Don't Look Back in Anger
by LittleLamperouge
Summary: Starts after Dorrien leaves in The Novice. When a prank between Regin and Sonea goes too far, Akkarin, Lorlen, Dorrien and Rothen try to fix the situation - with disasterous consequences. SoneaRegin, Soneax?. Reviews are welcome.
1. Prologue

1

The magician's boots echoed loudly in the empty corridor as Sonea bound up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She had just received a message from Rothen to come to his rooms immediately. Her brows creased. Rothen would never had ordered her back if it was not important. But what had happened? Regin hadn't done anything. She wasn't about to collapse with exhaustion. The High Lord hadn't gone crazy and decided to massacre all magicians in the Guild, so what?

_Unless, it wasn't from Rothen._

Sonea stopped abruptly. The messenger had said to go to his rooms, not that Rothen himself had said for her to.

_What if it was about Rothen?_

Sonea felt her stomach clench at the thought.

_But he was fine a few minutes ago!_

As Sonea continued onwards, she felt the breath freeze in her throat.

_What if Lorlen had decided to do something against the High Lord and failed. What if the High Lord came after Rothen? What if he…he…_

_No_. she thought. _The High Lord would never kill Rothen – it would be far too obvious._

Or would it?

Sonea winced.

_Oh shut up_, she told herself. _It could be nothing important. Or maybe Dorrien has come back_ _to propose to me…_

Sonea felt a big grin split her face, as she imagined Dorrien bent down on one knee, holding out a small box. His brilliant blue eyes twinkling up at her.

Sonea felt her cheeks grow hot and she blinked in surprise as she realised she had reached Rothen's door. Taking a deep breath, a small grin still on her face, she brushed the door and it swung open soundlessly. Rothen was standing by the window, his shoulders tense and his expression grim. Sonea felt her grin slide slowly off her face.

_Perhaps not a proposal, but at least Rothen is unharmed._

She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut short by her guardian's warning expression. Sonea frowned, confused.

_What does that – _

And then she felt it. Another presence. The force of it almost made her stagger backwards. And there was only one magician who could possibly have so strong a presence…

'Sonea,' Rothen's voice wavered slightly. His face was tense, pale and sickly and his hand shook as he beckoned her.

'Sonea is here as you requested, High Lord. How may we assist you?'

In a far corner of the room, the tall slim man with long black hair turned and glared at Rothen with a look so cold Sonea felt herself shudder.

'I am here to find the source of a certain rumour I drew from the Administrator concerning you and your novice. I am referring to a rumour about my nocturnal activities. A rumour that must be stopped.' He said in a low voice.

Sonea's heart seemed to stop for several beats. And then double in pace.

_Shit! He knows! But how?! Lorlen would never have said this willingly. The High Lord must have forced him to._

Sonea's shoulder's drooped as she felt a sharp pang of sympathy.

_Poor Lorlen…_

The colour had drained from Rothen's face, a shocked expression fixed on it.

A humourless smile appeared on Akkarin's face.

'I saw much that impressed me: how Sonea visited the Guild while she was still a renegade, what she witnessed that night, how Lorlen discovered this while truth-reading her during the guardianship hearing and that he ordered you both to keep the discovery a secret so that he could work out how he could possibly enforce the Guild's law. A sensible decision. And fortunate for you all.'

Sonea looked up slightly as some of her fear turned into anger.

_Like you care about us._

Akkarin's eyes darted to hers for a moment, before fixing them back on Rothen.

'We have not spoken a word of it to anyone.' His voice was resigned. The voice of a man accepting defeat.

'So you say.' His voice softened slightly. 'I would know that for certain.'

_You already do_, Sonea mused.

Rothen gasped softly.

'And if I refuse?' A hint of anger found its way in Rothen's voice.

'I will take whatever measures you force me take, Rothen. You cannot prevent me reading your mind.'

Sonea stepped in front of Rothen, her expression dark and her eyes burning with fury.

_You wanna test that?_

Sonea didn't care if he was the High Lord, she wasn't going to let him hurt Rothen. Besides, he'd probably kill them both at the end of this anyway.

Akkarin's eyebrows rose slightly.

Rothen smiled weakly and took a deep breath. He placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

'It's OK.' He said gently.

The flame in Sonea's eyes faded away and she turned to look at Rothen.

Rothen's gaze dropped as he saw the hurt and pain in her eyes.

_But you can't…_

Rothen sidestepped her and walked towards Akkarin.

_You can't let him do this_, she screamed at his back.

Akkarin stepped towards Rothen and placed his hands on Rothen's temples.

Sonea let out a partially smothered sob. Rothen's face suddenly contorted in pain and he clenched his hands into fists. Sonea looked away and covered her ears with her hands. This was unbearable. A while later, Sonea turned slightly to see if it was over. Akkarin's eyes flung open and he took a deep breath before stepping away.

Rothen swayed slightly and Sonea hurried forwards to steady him. She looked up at the man she had come to think of as a father and felt a strong admiration.

_Stupid man. Stupid brave man._

Rothen smiled faintly.

'I'm fine. I'm all right.'

Sonea stepped back slightly and sighed.

Akkarin's voice cut through the peace.

'Now Sonea.'

_What_, she thought in disbelief as she bit back a protest.

'No! Leave her alone.' Rothen protested.

'I cannot.'

'But you know everything! She's only a –'

'Child? Come on, you know this won't hurt her.'

_Don't make me go, please don't make me go…_

Sonea pleaded silently in her head.

Rothen sighed exasperated and slowly turned to her.

'He knows everything. Let it confirm it for himself if he must. It won't hurt.'

Sonea stared blankly at Rothen.

_He's handing me over?!,_ she gaped in disbelief.

Tears were forming in his eyes. Sonea sighed again.

_He doesn't have a choice._

She felt a light touch in her mind.

**Trust me. We must co-operate.**

And then he stepped away.

Hopelessness smothered her thoughts. There was no way out, no backup plan.

She gulped.

_This is how it has to be._

Sonea heard the footsteps behind her and blinked back the tears. She let out a long ragged breath.

_Give up. You can't win._

Sonea shut her eyes and turned around not wanting to look into his eyes.

Akkarin frowned as she turned around. He didn't mean to make anyone upset, but this had to be done. Kyralia would always be more important than his best friend, a slum girl and her guardian. But still problems remained. Lorlen, his best friend for 18 years, now hated him and he couldn't do anything about it. He was still left to defend his country single-handedly from a group of power-hungry Sachakans. And then there was a rather annoying and unwanted problem of a certain novice taking up far too much of his thoughts.

At first, Akkarin had been disgusted. She was 13 years younger than him! And she was a slum-girl! It was wrong, perverted and just plain weird.

_But younger girls are married to older men than me all the time…_

And Akkarin had to admit that Sonea was special. She was like no-one he had ever met before. So tough and powerful and beautiful…

He sent these thoughts away. Now was not the time for being selfish. Besides, the feeling certainly wasn't mutual – especially not after this.

Stepping forward, Akkarin reached out towards her face.

_Finally, I have an excuse to touch her…_

He slowly ran his hands up the sides of her face and smothered the shiver that ran down his back. Lust threatened to overwhelm him.

_My God, she's beautiful._

Akkarin resisted the urge to sigh.

_Move on. It's never going to happen._

Yet despite everything, he wished it wasn't so. And that was his last thought before he placed his hands on her temples.

The teenage girl blinked, as she found herself in a room. A room with two doors and various empty picture frames. The walls and floor were wooden.

_The conscious part of my mind._

The girl smiled. It hadn't changed at all.

**Sonea.**

A voice echoed around her head. She frowned as she remembered the voice's owner.

**We don't have time for this. Just tell me what I want to know.**

Time is a strange thing. It can sometimes seem like it's going too fast or too slow when really it's going at exactly the same speed all the time. It was 30 minutes before they rejoined Rothen back in the real world. Akkarin frowned deeply and turned away from them. He knew what he had to do. But it was not going to be easy. Things were bound to get messy. He took a deep breath. I have no other choice.

'I will claim Sonea's guardianship. You will never tell anyone else whilst she is mine. She is unnaturally strong and clever – no-one will question my choice.'

Sonea stood rooted to the ground, her mouth open in shock horror.

_No-one question my choice? No-one will question my choice?! Oh yeah?! We'll see about that. You can't do this – this is blackmail!_

'No!' Rothen exclaimed reaching forwards and taking her hand. Sonea tightened her grip.

'Don't force me to consider an alternative, Rothen.' Akkarin warned, his expression darkening.

Rothen let out a strangled noise of disgust and looked at Sonea with sad eyes.

_How can he do this?! _

Rothen looked down and sighed.

_It's not fair._

Looking up, Rothen made his glare as cold and as icy as possible.

'I will obey your decision, High Lord.' He said as he gritted his teeth, emphasising Akkarin's title.

Akkarin's face was arranged in a disapproving scowl. As he turned to Sonea, the scowl melted away.

'There is a room for the High Lord's novice in my residence.' He continued.

Her eyes flared and seemed to turn several shades darker. Sonea narrowed her eyes at Akkarin in hatred. Akkarin's eyes also narrowed.

'You will come with me now, my servant will bring your belongings later.' There was an undertone of anger in his voice.

Not wanting to provoke things any further, Rothen turned her around and looked at her with tear-filled eyes.

'Go,' he told her softly.

Sonea's heart seemed to smash in little pieces like a sheet of glass.

'But…Rothen…' she choked on his name.

Rothen embraced her in a fierce hug and bit back the tears as Sonea let a single tear tumble down her face.

**This is not the end. I will get you back – I promise. **

Sonea squeezed her eyes shut as more tears rolled down her face.

Thank you.

Pulling back, Rothen smiled and wiped her tears away. Sonea gave him a watery smile and she turned towards the open door. As she approached it, she stopped by Akkarin and felt the heat of her fury dry all her tears from her eyes. Suddenly, the feelings she had bottled up exploded. And she let loose all of the anger she felt in 14 words which none of them would ever forget.

_Before my time is done, I will look down on your corpse and smile._

Rothen gasped in the background, Akkarin's frown deepened and Sonea let her eyes snap to Akkarin from beneath her fringe, letting one last evil, malicious smile appear on her face before she disappeared into the corridor and the door slammed shut.


	2. Ambushed

**A/N: Half of this chapter is from the book, the rest is mine.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Black Magician Trilogy or the characters mentioned. I only own the plot.**

2

Three months later…

'Stop!'

The strikes ceased. In the silence, Regin looked at the others one by one and grinned.

'Now let's put her in her proper place.'

As he turned back to regard her, Sonea saw the malicious glint in his eyes and realised that exhausting her had just been the first part of his plan. She wished she had continued pushing toward the main corridor. But as she did, she knew she would not have made it that far.

Regin sent another, cautious strike at her shield. One by one, the others continued this careful onslaught. Most of the strikes were weak, but as she drew more and more on the source of her power to maintain her shield, she realised she was doomed anyway. Even if they ended up too exhausted to use their powers, ten novices could still happily torment her without using magic at all.

With growing dread, she felt her power fading. Her shield shimmered away, leaving nothing but air between herself and Regin. He smiled at the others – a tired but triumphant grin. Then a streak of red light pulsed from Regin's palm. Pain blossomed in her chest and flashed outward, shivering down her arms and legs and stabbing up into her head. She felt her muscles spasm, and her back sliding against the wall.

As the sensation faded, she opened her eyes and found herself curled up on the floor. Heat rushed to her face.

Humiliated, she tried to stand up, but another burst of pain took over her senses. She gritted her teeth, determined that she would not cry out.

'Well, I've always wondered what stunstrike did,' she heard Regin say. 'Like to try it?'

Hearing a sound of disgust, Sonea felt a momentary hope as two of the novices exchanged a look of dismay then turned and walked away. But the others all wore eager expressions and her hope faded as stunstrike after stunstrike sent pain coursing through her again.

Regin's taunt ran through her mind.

'_So call on your guardian, Sonea. Ask him to rescue you.' _

It would take a brief mental call; an image of Regin and his accomplices…

No. Nothing Regin did to her could be as awful as having to ask Akkarin for help.

_Rothen then!_

_Not allowed to talk to him._

_There's got to be someone!_

But a call for help would be heard by Akkarin – and other magicians. The whole Guild would soon know that his novice had been found exhausted and defeated in the passages of the University. There was nothing she could do. Curling into a ball, she waited for the novices to use up the last of their power, or grow bored with their game and leave her alone.

_So cold._

As her eyes slid to the ground, she could see that she was still lying on the University floor. She was convinced they had shown mercy and left. But seeing the eight pairs of boots in front of her, her heart sank.

_Have they got nothing better to do?_

Then, a one pair of boots moved towards her, she winced as the sound of the heels echoed through the corridor. Suddenly the corridor flashed red and Sonea saw stars, her eyes closed tightly and her hands flew to her head, as if trying to keep her skull in her one piece. Opening her eyes, Sonea felt sick as the world seemed to spin around her. Looking up, she saw that her vision was blurred and fuzzy. A single brown robed figure, towered over her, its face blurred and doubled. Sonea could do nothing as the person kneeled down in front of her. Looking straight at its face, she felt a hand press itself against her forehead. Another flash of red shone from the hand and then a darkness took her in an embrace that smothered all thought.

The darkness slowly melted away like a winter coat no longer needed. As the scene around her slowly came back into focus, Sonea blinked in surprise.

Someone was healing her! She could see seven blurred faces staring at her with surprise and confusion. As the picture cleared even more, she recognised each of the watching novices. But one face was missing. Then realisation hit her.

Sonea stared at Regin, who had now removed his hand from her face, with a mixture of fear, horror, surprise and gratitude. Regin stepped back.

_Why did he do that_, Sonea thought. She allowed herself to smile slightly.

_Maybe Regin isn't as bad as he seems_

Regin continued to stare at her.

Her hope diminished a little, she felt uneasiness and wariness settle in.

_Maybe he just doesn't want to get the blame when if I wake up here tomorrow._

But then Regin grinned. A nasty grin, his eyes dark with a mysterious glint in them.

Sonea's hope at once vanished, like a candle after having a bucket of water poured on it.

_Or maybe…he isn't finished with me yet._

Sonea's smile faded instantly.

Regin chuckled darkly and motioned to Issle and Alend, who were standing behind him. They grinned and flexed their hands. Sonea made a noise of surprise as an invisible force pulled her into a standing position and pinned her against the wall. She made grunts of effort as she tried desperately to move her limbs. Whatever was coming was going to be far worse than anything that had happened before. She needed to leave – and fast. Regin turned his attention back to Sonea. He sighed.

'Sonea, Sonea, Sonea,' he shook his head sadly.

'I know you're obsessed with me, but all this 'stalking' business has to stop.'

The other novices giggled in the background.

'So I have decided to it end it now. It will be best for us both.'

Sonea raised an eyebrow.

_What is he talking about?_

'There is only one way, you must confess your undying love for me and then we will decide what to do afterwards.'

The force coming from Issle faltered slightly as she lost concentration.

Sonea felt her blood boil with anger. She choked out a restrained cough and narrowed her eyes at Regin.

_I'd rather drink the contents of a toilet._

Regin opened his mouth in mock surprise and shock.

'My dear! This is no way to treat the one who saved your life!'

He reached out and stroked her face. Sonea turned her face away in disgust.

Regin's hand froze. He drew it away and grinned in approval. He stepped forward, his face inches from hers and whispered teasingly into her ear,

'I like 'em feisty.'

He stepped away once more. Sonea's face was contorted with rage, fear and disgust. Gathering all her anger and hate, she spat in Regin's face.

Exclamation and gasps came from the surrounding novices. Both forces faltered briefly before two new forces came from other novices. Regin's eyes remained shut, his face devoid of all emotions. And then his eyes opened. Sonea shrank slightly under the intense coldness of the glare. Wiping away the spit, he sighed once again.

'I don't know why you are playing hard to get…' he said before hitting her with a powerful stunstrike which made her body arch in pain.

'…but I'm afraid…' anger entered his gaze.

'…that I cannot contain my feelings for you as you do for me.'

He stepped forward again, his breath now tickling Sonea's face. Sonea looked into his eyes.

Although he was being sarcastic **(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Regin genuinely is being sarcastic, he doesn't fancy Sonea. He's just being an evil git.),** she felt something change in the mood. This was no longer a meaningless game. She had insulted him and now he would make her pay.

'If you will not allow me to tell you my feelings, I will have to show you my feelings.'

There was now no anger or hatred in gaze, only…

Sonea gulped loudly.

…lust and desire.

Regin pressed her shoulders harder against the wall, making her wince. Then panting heavily, he pressed his lips hard against hers.


	3. The Unexpected

**A/N: Hey guys, I've written about 7 chapters of the story, but there's a problem. I'm at boarding school at the moment and the rest of my story is at home on my laptop. I only sent the first 7 chapters to myself at school. I'm sorry! Anyways, here's chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the plot. STEAL MY PLOT AND DIE!!**

3

Sonea's eyes bulged in shock. She was speechless. She had assumed that he would have just continued flirting, but not – this! The force holding her back against the wall fizzled and died as the other's concentration was snapped abruptly. All stared at Regin with shock and horror, but most quickly turned to curiosity and excitement. All except Issle, who was currently struggling to breathe. She took a few steps backwards before sprinting away down the corridor. No-one turned to look. Sonea suddenly felt a surge of hope.

Wait! No barriers! Perhaps I can – 

This sudden plan was silenced when Regin send her a mindstrike. A mental image of a lightning strike sent sharp pain running through her body. Sonea opened her mouth to cry out in pain, but was met only by Regin's tongue. Sonea's stomach churned.

Alend, Kano. Carry on. 

Regin's order echoed around in her head and two invisible forces pinned her limbs against the wall. His hands groped her body desperately before moving downwards to undo her sash.

Sonea screamed mentally.

Wait! Stop screaming! If you carry on, someone will hear you and come to investigate.

She felt helplessness smother her other emotions.

But I can't stand here doing nothing!

Regin threw her sash on the floor and slid his hands under her robes and up her t-shirt.

This is rape!

He wrapped his arms around her back and intensified the devouring kiss. She whimpered weakly in protest. As Regin finally ended the mouthwash, she looked at him and his lust and pleasure filled eyes.

It all comes down to this. Die fighting or surrender and live? 

His mouth was turned upwards in a sly grin.

Who do I hate more - Regin or Akkarin?

Sonea smiled sadly. That made the choice a lot easier.

A few minutes later, Sonea was lying on the cold stone floor of the university. Her face streaked with tear marks, while other fresh tears tumbled across her face and on to the floor. Regin and his friends had left a couple of minutes ago calling,

'Whore,' down the corridor at her. Sonea felt empty and cold, like a part of her had died when she let him...

Sonea shivered. That was the last thing she wanted to think about.

Like someone had just taken her pride and self-respect and flushed them down the toilet. Though, her face was steady and emotionless, her mind was at war with itself**. (A/N: The underlined bit is Sonea's conscious ans the italics is her mind. Weird, I know - but bear with me here!)**

What the hell have you done?!

I did the only thing I could.

You chose to let Regin rape you over calling Akkarin?!

If I called Akkarin, everyone would know.

And you don't think Regin will tell everyone that he raped the High Lord's novice because she was too scared of her guardian?

Sonea gulped loudly. She hadn't thought of that.

No. He's a member of the houses. If it was found out that he raped the High Lord's novice, he'd be expelled.

So? Fergun was willing to break the King's law to get you expelled!

There was a pause.

At least Akkarin, wouldn't do THIS to you?! Just because you can't swallow your pride and ask for help!

From WHO?! Sonea shouted furiously and herself.

I have NO-ONE. I'm not allowed to speak to Rothen. Sonea sighed.

I don't want to think what he'd do to Regin if he found out. I'm like his daughter.

Sonea felt a deep regretful sadness and choked back a sob. She needed Rothen now. She needed him to come and wipe her tears away, give her a hug and tell her that everything would be OK. She wanted her old bed, away from the High Lord, where she could at least try and forget everything that happened.

Who else could she turn to?

Dannyl was in Elyne and Dorrien was on his way back to his village. She felt her heart twist.

Dorrien, she thought. She remembered the kiss they had by the spring not so long ago. Sonea's shoulders drooped shamefully. She couldn't tell him. He would be so ashamed of her. He would have asked her why she didn't fight back and if she told him that she didn't want to call Akkarin, he might start asking questions…

Sonea closed her eyes.

If I told Dorrien, I'd be putting his life in danger. What if something happened to him because of me?

Her heart dropped like a stone. There was no way she was calling Akkarin. Sonea felt acid burn a hole through the bottom of her stomach. She HATED him. He had taken EVERYTHING from her. Her spark of happiness, her freedom, her friends, Rothen, Dorrien…

Sonea thought back to when Lord Jolen fell through the trapdoor and Faren told her it led to a pit of spikes. She wished Akkarin would fall on a bed of spikes.

She had endured such brutal torture, just to stop herself calling him. What would be the point of giving in now? Sonea doubted he would even help her anyway. She shuddered.

But if he can read minds at a distance, who's to say he's not reading mine, right now? 

It was late, almost midnight. He might be getting worried and start looking for her…

Desperately pushing these thoughts away, she thought hard. Who knew about everything? Who would be sympathetic and understanding? She blinked as the answer came to her.

Lorlen.

She paused.

But he's Akkarin's best friend, he'd tell him, she told herself,

He kept the black magician thing a secret. He's the only other one who knows about everything and Akkarin didn't say not to talk to Lorlen…

She choked back another sob.

He'd be so disappointed with me.

Whoever I tell will be disappointed.

She frowned at the ground in recognition. She got up using the wall as a support.

See if he's in his office, if not, go to bed – I'll need my strength for tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

She groaned. Tomorrow would be unbearable.

She smiled grimly.

Major understatement.


	4. Ichani Invasion?

**A/N: Hey people! This chapter contains Lorlen, Akkarin and a very upset Sonea. The bold italic writing is the conversation through Lorlen's blood ring and the normal italics is the character's thoughts. Please review, it's the only way I know if you like the story or not!**

4

It was well past midnight when Lorlen finally finished the last letter. He rose, stretched and walked to the door, barely seeing his surroundings as he automatically set the magical lock. As he turned to walk down the corridor, he heard a noise in the University Entrance Hall. He paused, considering whether to investigate. It had been a soft sound – perhaps a dead leaf blown in through the doorway. He had just made up his mind to ignore it when the sound came again. Frowning, he moved to the Entrance Hall doorway. A movement drew his eyes to one of the enormous doors. Something slid along the ancient timber. He took a step forward then drew in a sharp breath. Sonea was leaning against the doors, as if she would fall over without their support.

Hearing the intake of breath, Sonea tore her eyes away from the ground, her eyes snapping straight to Lorlen's face.

Sonea's face instantly relaxed as she let out a pathetic half-sob, half-choke of relief. Her dark eyes glistening with tears, she hurried over to Lorlen, threw her arms around him on impulse and buried her face in his shoulder. Lorlen's face, however, was blank with shock.

What just happened, he thought.

Lorlen POV

I knew I had to calm down.

There might be a perfectly not-so-bad reason for this…of course it was bad!

I'd known Sonea for nearly two years and I had NEVER even seen her even look like she would cry. And now, she comes to me, in the middle of night and starts bawling into my shoulder! I took a deep breath and swallowed, trying to keep my anger down. What had he done to her?! Black magician or not, she was his novice – his responsibility. What kind of guardian does this to a child? Sonea sobbed harder, although the sound was muffled by the robes, it still echoed loudly in the empty University. What had happened? Had he tried to involve her in one of his murders? Or had he tried to kill her but she had escaped? I sighed and looked down at her.

She needs someone to help her cope. I guess before it was Rothen – but now that's he's banned from talking to her, there's no-one.

I gritted my teeth with determination.

Except for me. I'll never abandon her.

I carefully wrapped my arms around her back, in case I scared her. I saw the ring on my hand and directed all my anger and rage at it.

Do you mean to take us all down with you?! 

Akkarin POV

Where the hell is she?

I ran my finger around the edge of the wineglass, concentrating on the high, thin note it made - trying to take my mind off my disobedient novice.

Does she think that if she comes back late she'll avoid seeing me? Or is she deliberately trying to annoy me?

But I then realised that this behaviour was to be expected. I had taken her away from the man she looked to as a father and now she hated me with a burning passion.

If I was in her position, I would probably do the same thing.

But still - I had to talk to her about this. Looking up once more at the grandfather clock, I sighed. 12.50am.

She'll be back eventually – she can't avoid me forever.

The high, thin sound stopped suddenly and my eyes widened as I looked towards the gleaming white walls of the University.

What if this wasn't intentional? What if an Ichani had entered the grounds and found her? 

I felt the colour drain from my face. Oh God.

The University was virtually empty at this time of the day – so no-one would see them. And the Houses are so 'outraged' by me taking 'the slum-girl's' guardianship, that they would discuss it freely amongst themselves. And if the Ichani reached any members of the Houses living in the city, they could easily found out what her name was and what she looked like…

She wasn't particular skilled or confident with using that power either. And Warrior Skills were her worse subject!

The more I thought about it, the worse and more likely an attack sounded. I bit the inside of my cheek.

Although, she was stronger than the average Guild magician, she would be no match for an Ichani, who were hundreds – maybe even thousands of times stronger than a Guild magician. I let my head flop back against the red leather of the chair and closed my eyes.

And if she died, they would think of the murderer in the city. A black magician. And who's the only black magician anyone knows about? Me. I'll be executed; they probably wouldn't listen to the story of Sachaka and the Ichani and even if they did, they wouldn't believe it. 

An iron fist gripped my heart, as I remembered.

Even Lorlen doesn't trust me anymore - 

Hearing the delicate scrape of cutlery, my eyes flickered open to see Takan clearing the table.

'Will there be anything else, master?' Takan asked.

I smiled faintly at him and turned again to look at the wineglass I was holding.

'No, no. That will be all, thank you, Takan.'

My voice faded away towards the end of sentence. Takan regarded me carefully,

'Don't worry about Lady Sonea, master. I expect she's probably fallen asleep in the library.'

'Yes,' My voice was barely audible over the crackling of the fire in the fireplace.

'Yes.'

Suddenly, a tremendous sense of anger and fear and disgust swept over me. My eyes widened in alarm and I glared down at the blood ring on my finger and sighed. Lorlen.

Do you mean to take us all down with you?!

Normal POV

What?!

Akkarin raised his eyebrows in confusion, which quickly turned to irritation and anger.

Typical Lorlen, always jumping to conclusions.

He made a rude noise and scowled down at the ring.

What is it I'm supposed to have done now, he felt like asking.

I'm not taking anyone anywhere with me. What are you talking about?

Lorlen glared down at his ring in disbelieving anger.

Akkarin was irritated?! He hasn't got to stop a teenage girl having a nervous breakdown!

He sent a picture of Sonea – pale-faced, weak and sobbing violently into his robes.

This! What the hell did you do to her?!

Several silent heartbeats passed. Lorlen gritted his teeth in anger, while Akkarin stared ahead alarmed and horrified, his mouth slightly open.

Oh no…they've found her!

Akkarin closed his mouth and considered what to do next.

Lorlen resisted the urge to growl at the ring, remembering that Sonea didn't know about the secret argument. The sobbing, he noticed had now stopped, reduced only to sniffles.

Pulling back, she looked up into Lorlen's sky blue eyes and smiled weakly.

He smiled sympathetically at her and glanced back at his office.

There's no way I can send her back like this…

Following Lorlen's gaze, Sonea recognised his office door and looked up at him hopefully.

Lorlen glanced at Sonea out of the corner of his eye and saw her looking hopefully at the door to his office. His face relaxed.

'Shall we?' he said, gesturing towards the office.

Sonea rubbed her sore eyes, and then smiled, nodding at Lorlen.

Exerting his will, the door opened with a hollow click as Sonea entered with the mass of dark blue robes following close behind. Neither of them noticed a familiar face watching them from his window in the Novice's Quarters.


	5. The Blood Ring

**A/N: Hey people! Thanks so much for your comments - u guys are so nice! Like I said before though, I've only got 6 completed chapters with me and I'm currently writing a seventh. So after the next chapter, I'm afraid I won't be updating as recently though. I know exactly what's gonna happen though and if by the end of this story I have enough support, I shall write a sequel. Enjoy and review! bows gracefully Thank you.**

5

Lorlen POV

'Are you okay?' I asked, once I had sat down in my chair.

I grimaced to myself.

Stupid question.

Sonea POV

I looked up at him and nodded half-heartedly.

Would he actually believe me if I said I was fine?

There was an awkward silence.

'You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.' Lorlen said.

My eyebrows lifted in surprise. I was grateful for his understanding. But then I frowned as I remembered what I was about to tell him. Looking deeper into his eyes, I saw anxiety and fear.

He actually does care about me.

I felt myself warm with gratitude and affection.

But how much longer will that last for?

'I take it this is to remain a secret.' Lorlen said, as more of a statement than a question.

I sighed in approval. I opened my mouth to speak, but then closed it again.

I can't. I can't do this.

He's going to find out eventually. He might as well hear it from me.

I closed my eyes briefly and slowly let out a deep breath.

Please don't hate me.

Lorlen POV

Sonea looked up at me and nodded, a worried expression on her face. An awkward silence followed.

She's going to bottle out. Do something!

'You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.' I said.

But I'd like you to.

I watched Sonea's expression with curiosity. Did she still think that all magicians were stern, rigid, heartless taskmasters?

But then again, her guardian doesn't care much for her at all. He's only her guardian because he blackmailed her into it.

I felt a cloud of unrestrained anger and annoyance hit me. I struggled to hold in a gasp and my eyes darted quickly to the ring.

Akkarin's going to hear this! Oh God, what am I going to do?

Carry on as normal, he said.

I decided to ignore that comment as I saw a look of doubt on Sonea's face.

'I take it this is to remain a secret.'

She wouldn't have come to me this late and want to talk to me in private if it wasn't important.

I could see her struggling with herself and I suddenly felt very sympathetic.

Curiosity radiated from the ring.

Sonea closed her eyes.

Whatever this was, I was almost certain she didn't want Akkarin to hear. Cringing, I took the ring off and put it in my pocket – hoping I wouldn't regret that.

Sonea let out a deep breath to calm herself. Her eyes flickered open and she began.

Akkarin POV

I knew Sonea would never tell me if I asked her personally, we can just about talk about lessons. So a heart-to-heart with the 'emotionless assassin' was out of the question. But she trusted Lorlen more than me and thanks to the blood ring, I could hear and feel everything he felt. I didn't want to do this – but there was no other way.

I smiled grimly. I could see why she trusted Lorlen and not me. Lorlen was much more approachable than me and he seemed to care about her very much. More than I had known him to care about any other girl…

I blinked. Where had that come from? Lorlen and Sonea? No! Never!

'You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.' Lorlen said.

I grinned.

Such a charmer, Lorlen.

'But I'd like you to.'

I smiled. And he said he never gossiped…

'But then again her guardian doesn't care much for her at all. He's only her guardian because he blackmailed her into it.'

I felt an uncontrolled wave of anger and annoyance arise.

Shut up, Lorlen. You know NOTHING.

Lorlen was surprised, he must have forgotten I was listening. He started panicking.

I sighed at the ring, still pissed off with his little comment.

Carry on as normal.

Lorlen ignored me and I bit back a vindictive comment.

An image of Sonea appeared, looking uncertain. I sighed. If she wasn't sure about telling Lorlen, she definitely wasn't going to tell me.

'I take it is this is to remain a secret.'

I paused. What did that mean? Am I included in that or not?

Looking back at her doubtful face, I raised my eyebrows. This MUST be important. I wonder what it is…

Lorlen cringed as if preparing to do something. I saw his hand move towards the ring.

Oh no – don't you DARE, Lorlen…

As he removed the ring, I flopped back into my chair and swore.

Damn it, Lorlen!

But if Lorlen didn't want me to see, it must be something he doesn't want me to know or see about – i.e: very bad and important stuff. Thinking of a list of possible things that it could therefore be about, I frowned. None of them sounded good.


	6. Confession

**A/N: Thank you again for the reviews. I'm actually really suprised - I didn't think you guys would like it this much. I have now finished the 7th chapter. More is on the way! This chapter is about when Sonea tells Lorlen about what happened...**

**To GoluxOracle : Thanks for the comment and the advice! It'll help me to make the story better.**

**To Lily-x-Lily: Thanks! I like Akkarin too. Yep, I like Lorlen, I don't think there are enough fics with him in. Yeah Sonea, I think she cries a bit much in this, I dunno I'm not sure. But she won't cry again for the rest of the story now, after this chapter that is.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the plot. Which is entirely mine D.**

6

Sonea let out a deep breath to calm herself. Her eyes flickered open and she began.

'When I started as a novice, even at the acceptance ceremony, I could tell we wouldn't get on.' She started in a weak voice. Sonea continued to describe Regin and her classmates, about Rothen, when her classmates attacked her in the forest. She only briefly explained how Regin got caught thanks to Dorrien and Lorlen realised that Regin was not the only person she didn't really want to talk about. Lorlen smiled. He had seen the way her eyes lit up when she talked about Dorrien. Lorlen was also glad to see her looking better than before. And then Sonea started to talk about the time Regin flirted with her. Lorlen thought that it was strange how she suddenly became depressed at this part more than any other.

Perhaps, that has something to do with why she was crying…

Feeling the colour slowly drain from his face, Lorlen pushed the thought aside and listened to Sonea.

Sonea gulped loudly and took a deep breath.

This is it, they both thought at the same time.

'Earlier this evening, I received a message from Lady Tya, saying the High Lord wanted to see me in Lord Yikmo's room.' Sonea looked at the floor and her voice began to break.

'It was a trap. He wasn't there – only Regin, his friends and some other novices. They started attacking me with strikes.' She paused to gulp again 'There were 10 of them. I couldn't keep my shield up for long.'

Lorlen had his eyes closed in understanding.

An outnumbered novice, with no magical power and an enemy that hates her. No teachers, no staff – they could do whatever they wanted and no-one would ever know.

He remembered back to the time when he had been exhausted after several novices were put against him. If anything had happened, he wouldn't have had the strength to fight back.

'I was exhausted. I fell unconscious.'

Lorlen nodded.

I knew it. But why didn't she call out?

He sighed.

Because she had no-one to call out to. She can't speak to Rothen and she won't talk to Akkarin because she hates him.

Lorlen felt admiration and respect for Sonea. Most people would have called out.

But not her.

'And then…Regin healed me.'

Lorlen's eyes flicked open in alarm.

What?! But, that doesn't make sense! Unless…maybe Regin is not as bad as we had thought.

Lorlen smiled sadly,

'Well, I can understand your distress. Being exhausted and left defenceless is not an ideal position. But Regin helped you out.' He smiled. 'Maybe, he is not so bad after all.'

Sonea shut eyes and her head bowed towards the ground. The silence stretched onwards. And then he realised. There was more.

Sonea's breath was ragged.

'He healed me. But…he wasn't finished with me yet.'

Lorlen's face was one of fearful recognition.

'His friends pinned my arms and legs to a wall and Regin…he…he flirted with me and he kissed me.'

Lorlen's face relaxed slightly, but then an uneasy confusion settled in.

She's upset because he kissed her? 

'I tried. I tried to make him stop, but I couldn't. So I insulted him. And he got offended.'

Lorlen's head was in his hands – he groaned softly. That was not a smart move, but she couldn't sit there and do nothing…

'So he kissed me again, but it was more…violent.' Sonea's voice cracked under the pressure of holding in the tears. Her voice rose. She took a deep breath and let it out again.

'I had to make a choice between Regin and Akkarin…'

Silence followed. Lorlen looked onwards with a confused, puzzled look on his face. And then the truth hit him like a slap on the face. He jumped to his feet and glared at her desperately.

'Please Sonea. Please. Please tell me you didn't let him.' He whispered hoarsely, his blue eyes haunted.

Sonea met his gaze and then it dropped and she bit her lip to keep back the tears and shook her head repeatedly.

'I'm sorry, Lorlen.' A single tear rolled down her face.

For a few moments, he was unable to say or do anything.

He was still in shock.

How could Regin strike the High Lord's Novice, until she was exhausted and defenceless and then heal her just so her could – rape her?! 

Lorlen had to mentally choke out the word 'rape'. It was disgusting. He deserved to be publicly disgraced! But looking back at the crying girl on the chair, he knew he couldn't. If he disgraced Regin, he would disgrace her as well. Still feeling sick, Lorlen slowly made his way over to Sonea and spent some time, just looking at her. He felt a mixture of feelings. Frustration, anger, sympathy and fear being the main ones.

Noticing him there, Sonea wiped her eyes and looked up at the towering figure, who reached out his hand. Sniffing, Sonea took it and Lorlen pulled her up into a big, fierce hug. Sonea buried her face in his shoulder once more and Lorlen rested his head on the top of hers, as he tried to get her to calm down. A single tear landed on Sonea's head. Pulling apart, they both looked at each other. Lorlen managed a small smile and wiped away Sonea's tears.

Lorlen's expression suddenly became serious. Taking hold of her shoulders, he shook them gently and stared at her intently.

'I'll always be here for you. I'll never abandon you. And if you have any problems, just come and talk to me.' His eyes sparkled. Sonea beamed back.

'Thank you.'

She sighed.

'I should be getting back now – it's almost dawn, lessons will start in a few hours. And the High Lord will probably have sent out search parties for me.'

They both laughed. Lorlen smiled.

'Take care, Sonea.'

'I will.' She cleared her throat.

'Goodnight Administrator.'

The corner of Lorlen's mouth turned upwards.

'Goodnight.'

He realised now, as he watched the sky clear to the colour of forget-me-nots, that he loved Sonea. He loved her truly and deeply. But not a romantic kind of love. But a caring love. He smiled as headed towards the door, and once again locked the door and headed off back to his room in the Magician's Quarters.

Once again, neither of them noticed him emerge from the baths. He saw the smiles on both faces and grinned broadly himself.

These grins must be contagious, Regin thought.


	7. Akkarin

**A/N: Hey, this is a pretty short chapter - it only contains Akkarin and a bit of Takan at the beginning. This is the last completed chapter I have! I'm sorry! But this means I can't update for a little while. This is NOT being abandoned though. I will be back. Review please. Reviews make me happy and make stories better.**

7

The High Lord had always been exceptionally good at hiding his emotions. But even passers-by who didn't know him all that well would have noticed his grave expression that morning.

Just as well he didn't go out then, Takan mused.

The cook was currently pouring the High Lord yet another glass of Anuren Dark, seemingly the only thing he would eat or drink.

Wine in the morning, he thought, this can't be good.

Catching a quick glance at his master, Takan frowned.

He wasn't quite sure what was darker, his robes or his expression.

Akkarin suddenly stood up, making his cook jump back slightly in surprise.

'I'll be back in a minute,' he mumbled, his voice carried away as he strode away down the corridor – in the direction of Sonea's room, Takan noticed.

He sighed.

As if the master didn't already have enough things to worry about…

Akkarin's frown deepened as he continued further down the corridor. Pushing his bedroom door open, he walked straight in without slowing his pace. Finally halting in the middle of the room, Akkarin took a deep breath and punched the nearest post of his four poster bed. He grimaced as the action sent a wave of pain rippling up his arm and into his shoulder. Letting out the breath slowly, Akkarin regarded his now bruised and bloodied knuckles in dismay. He had to stop all this…stuff clogging up his mind. The Ichani and keeping his secret safe was more than enough to worry about. He shouldn't add more worries to his list.

But she had scared him last night. Sonea almost never cried; this had to be something major. And his lack of knowledge about the situation was making him feel even more anxious and frustrated. Remembering the conversation with Lorlen, Akkarin felt a dull ache of guilt. He shouldn't have been so harsh on him. Lorlen's anger was understandable; he was being held to ransom by his best friend of nearly 20 years along with an old man and a teenage girl and there was nothing he could do about it. But still, he didn't have to take the ring off. Unless Lorlen thought him knowing would make things worse.

But I'm her guardian, I have a right to know what is going on in her life.

Akkarin froze.

Am I really that horrible and unforgiving?

He turned to regard the face of the man, looking back from the mirror.

He had the typical Kyralian profile – tall, slim, pale smooth skin and the black shiny hair that fell to the middle of his back. Although he was only 31, Akkarin had the face and expression of a man much older. His face was lined slightly, marks of stress and frustration at his current situation. His mouth was, as usual set in its familiar slight frown, a man with problems and secrets that were best left forgotten.

But they would not let it be so. 

Kariko had always sworn to avenge his brother's death and he knew that he would not give up until either he or Akkarin was dead.

Akkarin sighed and twisted his hair around his fingers. It was an impossible situation and one he knew he could not get out of easily. Every month, the Ichani sent a slave to fight Akkarin, to see how strong he was and how easy Kyralia would be to invade.

He smothered a groan. So much depended on him. Staying in Kyralia, not being found about, staying alive… if he fell, everyone around him fell with him. If he died, it would only be a matter of time until the Ichani invaded. No-one would be able to stop them. Takan would be forced into slavery again, Lorlen also, and Sonea would probably be made a…

Akkarin closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.

A pleasure slave. 

He smiled grimly. Her beauty was her downfall. No Ichani would send a young woman as beautiful and as intelligent as her to work.

Ironic…it'd be like history repeating itself.

Akkarin's eyes flung open as a look of cold determination appeared on his face.

I can't let that happen. I couldn't save the last woman that meant this much – but I can save this one. I can save them all.

Hearing the smothered sound of the lesson bells in the distance, Akkarin's thoughts ended abruptly.

I can't do anything about now. I might not be able to save Kyralia, but I can save someone.

Akkarin nodded to himself as he walked towards the bedroom door and strode own the corridor towards Sonea's room.


	8. Regin's plan

**A/N: Hey people! Thanks for the reviews. I have to say, I'm now a bit scared that my story won't live up to your expectations. And I'm also very sorry for the delay. Basically I had some FAT writer's block ans then I had my KS3 SATS and various other stuff like that. Rothen is included in this chapter. Oh yeah, and I am well aware that what Regin does is completely stupid and unrealisitic, but like Sonea crying, it all has to be included for the story to work. But I know that this chapter is crappy. Please don't kill me. If I am still alive and I get good reviews, I shall post the next chapter. Anyway, enjoy (or at least try to anyway...)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except the plot.**

8

Through a window on the first floor of the university, a class of Second Year students could be seen leaving for their next lesson. As the class filed out of the classroom, the purple-robed alchemist cleaned the board and sat down in his chair. The door shut with a click and Rothen let out a sigh he had been holding in for the past hour. Today had not been a good day, so far. The Second Year summer class had spent the lesson trying to hide smug grins and laughter, but failed miserably. And for some reason, he suspected it had something to do with Sonea. He remembered the conversation he had had with Regin when he taught Sonea's class earlier.

'Why are you 10 minutes late for my class, Regin?' Rothen asked.

Regin didn't look at Rothen's face.

'My uncle said he wanted to see me, you know, just a guardian-novice chat.'

Regin had emphasised the words 'guardian-novice'. Rothen forced himself not to wince. That was a low blow, even for scum like Regin.

Rothen couldn't be bothered to argue. He nodded at Regin and told him to go and sit down.

And all that lesson, Regin had said nothing – just stared into the distance, as if daydreaming, an arrogant smirk on his face. That was one of the reasons why Rothen was so anxious. At least he knew what Regin was thinking about when he talked, but when he was silent – that is when he became truly dangerous. Who knew what schemes he was plotting in his head? But the thing that terrified him the most, was that Sonea didn't turn up at all.

2 hours earlier…

High Lord's Residence

Akkarin POV

It hadn't taken very long for the rush of determination I had got earlier to wear off. I had to help Sonea. Something bad had happened last night. I'm her guardian. So therefore, her health and happiness is my responsibility. I snorted at myself in mock amusement.

Health and happiness? Well, I'm doing a great job then, aren't I?

I gritted my teeth in frustration. It wasn't my fault. There was no other way. I guess I could only hope that once they found out the truth, they would be able to forgive me.

As I reached for her door handle, my resolve broke and I drew my hand away.

_If she hates me so much, it would probably be better if I stayed away from her for a while…_

Suddenly, the dining room door opened and I forced myself to push down the door handle and enter, refusing to be seen acting like a scared novice by Takan.

I peered around the corner, comforted by the sight of the human shape bump on the bed. A smile pulling at my mouth, I pushed the door open further and stepped forward. Then, I heard the front door shut downstairs. Surprised, I turned around to see Takan standing in the doorway, with the same expression on his face. But reality slapped me in the face – if Takan was there and Sonea was still in bed…who just left?

As the cloaked figure ran to the back of the High Lord's Residence, he let out a sigh of relief. That was close. That was also extremely dangerous. If he had been seen, he would have been expelled for sure and all the world would know that he had been caught in the room of the High Lord's novice. But know that it was done, his plan was almost complete. He grinned darkly. He was going to complete ruin her life with this. He was going to make her lose her guardianship and get kicked out of the guild for good – and teach her little helper a lesson. He hurried back to the Novice's Quarters, lessons had already started so he knew he was running out of time. Grabbing his books from his room, he started towards the University.

As Regin walked past the door to the office, he pretended to trip, dropping the cloak buckle from Sonea's room at the door entrance. Perfect. Laughing quietly to himself, he got up and continued on his way to his first class.

_Let the fun begin._


	9. PLEASE READ THIS

**A/N: Yeah, I know, Author's note and no chapter. Annoying, I know. But I just need to say something. Erm...yeah, I kinda feel I need to explain chapter 8, cos if you don't understand it, you aren't really gonna understand the rest of the story. **

**OK, so basically, Regin decides to sneak into the High Lord's Residence and take something belonging to Sonea (in this case a buckle). If you look carefully in the chapters before, you'll see that he sees Sonea and Lorlen together twice. So Regin decides to frame Lorlen, the same way as Rothen. He drops the buckle he took from Sonea's room outside Lorlen's door, making it seem like Lorlen took advantage of her. So he hopes that, Lorlen will back off and stop helping Sonea and that Sonea will be hated by everyone. He's still jealous that Sonea is Akkarin's novice. **

**As Regin is leaving Akkarin's house, Akkarin is attempting to wake Sonea up - and hears the front door shut. So he gets Takan to make the place burglar proof. And Sonea stays asleep, because Akkarin thinks it's best if he stays away from her for a while. He isn't really that bothered about her sleeping in anyway because he knew that she was depressed the night before. Oh yeah, so Akkarin's gone off to find Lady Tya from the Magician's Library, to see if she knows anything about what happened to Sonea.**

**The class Regin was late for because he was sneaking into Akkarin's house, was one with Rothen, who is slightly scared that Regin turned up late and Sonea didn't turn up at all.**

**And like I said, I am well aware, that Regin probably wouldn't sneak into Akkarin's house, but he kinda has to in this story. Sorry about that.**

**So, that's basically it. If you don't understand, tell me and I'll PM you, or something. Um...yeah. OK, I'm not really sure whether to continue with this story or not, so could you review or something telling me if you want me to. I'll wait until I get 12 reviews and then I'll decide whether or not to continue.**

**Anyways, thanks for your support so far.**

**magician-of-black-chaos234**


	10. Overreacting

**A/N: blinks in suprise Wow, you people reviewed quick! Thanks for the reviews and support. I've decided to continue for the moment. Well, if you read my note carefully, you can kinda figure out roughly what's gonna happen in this chapter. If you don't understand this chapter, I'll explain again. Yeah, so anyways, this is where things start getting a bit interesting...enjoy, or vaguely try to anyways. This contains Detective Akkarin and Rothen being a bit of a paranoid spaz...**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the characters. But this story is mine.**

_Akkarin POV_

Rule for today: Do not fall asleep with your face on a wooden desk. They are very uncomfortable and give you a huge headache when you do wake up. Though, actually whether that was due to the table or the large amount of wine had drunk not long ago, I couldn't tell. After using some Healing magic, I prized my face off the desk and paid attention to the letter I was supposed to be writing – explaining my views on the annual Guild ball that took place every February 14th. To be honest, I didn't really care about it – probably because for me, it was the same every year. I get asked by at least 30 women from the houses, I turn them down, they go off with someone else and then they fall in love and get married, blah blah blah.

Next to the sheets of paper, was a note with Takan's writing on it.

'No books or weapons missing. Front door can now be locked and ventilation shaft is covered with frosted glass. Door to downstairs room can now only be opened by a password (Ichani) and windows can now only be opened from the inside. Takan.' I raised my eyebrows and chuckled at the note. Takan had obviously been busy in the last few hours.

_Speaking of time, what time is it? _

The bell shortly answered my question. 8 chimes.

_Lunch-time._

Quickly, I stood up and strode towards the front door. I needed to talk to her before she went to lunch.

_Rothen POV_

Life is strange. You can do something almost everyday for decades, but yet after all that time, you can still find yourself feeling incredibly self-conscious and paranoid about it. Take now, for instance.

I graduated over thirty years ago. All magicians have to sit at the table on the raised platform at the end of the Dining Hall to eat. I had done that most days since I graduated, but yet today, I felt so tense and paranoid about sitting in front of all the novices. Trying to act casual, I put down my cutlery and looked down the table at the other magicians, to see if anyone else felt this way.

Director Jerrik was carefully sipping on some wine and staring passively into the distance, next to him was Lady Vinara, who was debating something with a serious-faced Lord Balkan. Lord Jolen and Lord Larkin, who had been best friends as novices, were talking enthusiastically. Lord Jolen suddenly through back his head and laughed at something Larkin said. And in between Larkin and me was Lorlen, who said nothing as he picked up his fork and ate some more chicken. Everyone was fine.

_Except me. _

Perhaps, it was just one of those days.

_But what about Sonea?_

I grimaced. I had tried to push her to the back of my mind because every time I thought about her, I found myself unable to think of anything else. It seemed that no-one had seen her all day. I pushed away the terrible feeling of fear and anxiety I felt at the bottom of my stomach. I tried to reassure myself.

_She'll be fine. This is Sonea after all._

Hearing an exclamation from some novices, I looked up. Three boys were sitting at the table closest to us. One of them was Regin. I gritted my teeth in hatred. The other two boys, a Lonmar and a Kyralian, were looking at Regin with a mixture of shock, fear and admiration. Regin grinned at them and his grin widened as his eyes slid to the magician's table. My blood turned to ice. Fear caught in my throat.

_What has he done now?_

But as I followed Regin's eyes, I realised that he wasn't looking at me…he was looking at Lorlen.

...

As Akkarin proceeded down the corridors of the University, he was bowed to by many different people. Akkarin sometimes amused himself by watching their faces when they saw him. The magicians were respectful and solemn as always, but the novices were all merely startled, shocked or in the case of some first-years, scared. Although, some second-years also looked a bit frightened and anxious when they saw him – that was a bit strange. But Akkarin merely brushed those thoughts aside, trying to focus on where he was going – the Magician's Library.

As he rounded the corner, he noticed something lying on the floor in front of one of the doors. A cloak buckle. It glinted in the sunlight streaming in through the window on the other side. Akkarin smiled wryly at it.

But as he bent down to pick it up, Akkarin froze in shock horror. He'd recognise that cloak buckle anywhere.

'Sonea.' He whispered in shocked surprise as he picked it up.

_How the hell did this end up here? _

Standing up, he looked at the door nearest to him and groaned. It was the door to Lorlen's office.

_But why would Sonea need to take her cloak off outside Lorlen's office? _

Then Akkarin's imagination ran ahead of him. Sonea hadn't been out all day, so this probably happened last night. She was crying and exhausted - therefore easy to take advantage of. Lorlen, a powerful magician, was the only person around. Sonea had come back very late, after him and Takan had gone to bed…

_It would explain why Lorlen took the ring off…_

But still, his best friend and his novice! The thought alone was disturbing and he was ashamed of himself for even considering it.

_You're overreacting. Sonea and Lorlen were just talking. _

Talking. _Nothing more._

He emphasised the last three words try to kill the lingering doubt in his mind.

Akkarin stood up and took the buckle with him. He hoped, more than anything in the world, that that wasn't what had happened. But some things were now certain. He would have to talk to Lorlen about this and eventually, somehow, he would have to talk to Sonea. Because this was not over. In fact, Akkarin had the feeling that things were only going to get worse.


	11. Bad Day

**A/N: Hey guys! Thank for the reviews, much appreciated. Um...yeah, this happy clappy chappie contains Lorlen being a pessimist, Detective Akkarin being a bit of a syke and Rothen having violent mood swings. Basically, everyone's having a pretty shit day. In case you are wondering, Sonea and Dorrien will both be in the chapter following this one - which hopefully, I will post on Wednesday at the latest. Anyways, here's the next chapter.**

10

Lorlen's day, unlike Rothen's had been, for most of it anyway, had been perfectly normal. Although, for some reason, Osen had started knocking on the door before he came in, which was very strange. Osen should know by now that Lorlen almost never had visitors.

_Not including last night._

Despite everything, he still found Sonea's words echoing around in his head. Her pale, worried face. The regretful frown. Lorlen put down in fork and sighed. He had to talk to Akkarin about what he was doing. It had to stop. Sonea was literally destroying herself over this. Hearing an exclamation from some novices in the background, Lorlen looked up half-heartedly and saw that a couple of novices were now staring at him in horror and disgust.

_Wait, what?,_ he mused in confusion.

As he looked harder at them, he realised that there were three novices sitting on a nearby table. They were all second-years, two were gawking at him, but the other novice simply grinned at him instead. It took a moment to realise that the novice grinning was Regin. Lorlen nearly exploded with anger – keeping a neutral face was one of the hardest things he had ever done in his life. Quietly, making a rude noise he turned back to the magician's table…only to find that Rothen, Balkan and Vinara were all staring at him as well! Completely clueless and oblivious to what was going on, Lorlen's eyes wandered from each glaring person to the next.

'What?'

**...**

'So Sonea left here at about quarter to midnight for Lord Yikmo's room?'

'Yes.' Came the reply.

'And you didn't see her again after that?'

'No.' the librarian replied.

'And the messenger was a novice.'

'Yes.'

Lady Tya resisted the urge to sigh. Magicians were so confusing.

_The High Lord didn't care for his novice at all before today, and now he comes here asking me about everything she had done yesterday evening._

Seeing Akkarin's frown deepen, Tya felt strangely comforted.

_Well, it does show that he cares about her after all._

His expression neutral, Akkarin straightened.

'Thank you for your time, Lady Tya. Enjoy your lunch.'

He inclined his head and strode off down the corridor.

Akkarin groaned in frustration as soon as he was out of earshot. That had told him virtually nothing. The only thing he had learnt was that, whatever had made Sonea cry probably happened in Lord Yikmo's room.

_What had Yikmo done to her?_

Akkarin paused briefly.

_Let's not go down that path. Besides, it may have nothing to do with Yikmo – it could have been a trap…_

Akkarin shook his head as if to clear his thoughts.

_There's no use speculating. You'll find out more when you talk to Lorlen later…_

Akkarin was so caught up in his thoughts, he notice the person in front of him until it was too late. He collided head first with the magician. Annoyed and irritated, Akkarin looked up and found himself staring at Lorlen's face. Whether it was because of the argument or the thought of what he could have done, Akkarin suddenly felt all of his anger and frustration at the situation erupt. He scowled fiercely at Lorlen and shoved him hard in the chest, making Lorlen stagger backwards, before walking off in the direction of his residence.

**...**

Lorlen remained stood at the spot where he had been shoved by Akkarin. He shivered. The amount of anger and hate in that glare had been terrifying.

_Great, even Akkarin has a problem with me now._

What was the problem with everyone today anyway? Everyone had been acting very strangely around him.

_Why though? What have I done?_

For the first time in three months, he felt truly helpless and alone. Sighing sadly, he took a deep breath and continued back to his office.

_Nothing could possibly make today any worse._

So when Lorlen remembered that the Night Room would be open tonight, and that he would be expected to attend, his groan was deep and sincere.

_Looks like it just did._

**...**

That groan was echoed a moment later by Rothen, who landed on his stomach as he flopped down on his bed and closed his eyes.

_Sonea's vanished, Lorlen is public enemy number one, what is going to happen to me?_

Rothen rolled his eyes. It may have just been a coincidence that Akkarin was pissed off and that the black magic witnesses were the only ones having a bad day. But still…

His heart went out to Lorlen, however. He had seen the glance between him and Akkarin. Rothen didn't envy Lorlen at all.

He rolled over and found himself staring the book he had got from Yilara, his wife. He frowned deeply. Yilara would have known what to do. But she had been taken away from him.

_Like Sonea_, he thought glumly.

Opening, the front cover, he read the message written in Yilara's elegant handwriting.

'For my darling Rothen, to mark the birth of our son. Yilara.'

Suddenly, he felt a terrible wrenching feeling in his stomach.

_Please. Please. Tell me what to do._

Pause.

_Wait…_

_'To mark the birth of our son.'_ Dorrien…

_…hello._

Of course, that was it! He would ask Dorrien to check on Sonea. Akkarin didn't know Dorrien that well, so he wouldn't get suspicious if he asked her. Filled with a new sense of hope, he called out to his son.

_Dorrien!_


	12. Summertime

**A/N: Hey hey! Thanks again for the reviews. This chapter isn't that good, so don't send me flames about how shit it is, cos I already know. It's also kinda short, but I've already written the next chapter, so that will be posted later this week. This contains a very unsubtle Rothen, Dorrien being a lazy sod and Sonea gettting the embarrassment of a lifetime. I really would not like to be in her position. Try to enjoy...a little bit...if you guys possibly could, could you get me up to 24 reviews? You don't have to, but it'd be nice. Anyways, here is the next chapter.**

11

A couple of hundred miles to the north, the young man sighed in content as he lay back in the wooden chair outside. Today had been a tiring day. Some of the horses belonging to the houses had become very ill indeed, and due to the lack of available Healers, he had been summoned here from his small house further north. The incident was not all that bad, in fact it was slightly amusing. Perhaps, he would have found it more amusing if he had been listening to the story. All he knew was that it involved a lot of drunk members of the Houses at a party and a large barrel of wine suspended over the stables.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the sun playing across his face and the soft cool breeze blowing through his hair.

_Dorrien!_

Startled, his eyes flung open. This was a bit unexpected.

_Father!_

_Dorrien. How are you?_

Dorrien smiled wryly.

_Now probably isn't the best time to ask._

Sympathy and amusement washed over him. And another feeling he couldn't quite name.

_Where are you at the moment?_

_I'm in Calia, looking after some horses drunk on pachi wine…_

Dorrien sent Rothen a picture of his surroundings.

Rothen grew more hopeful. Calia was no more than a few hours ride away…

Picking up on this hope, Dorrien grew suspicious.

_Why?_

Rothen took a deep breath.

_Have you spoken to Sonea recently?_

Dorrien's eyes widened in surprise and his cheeks turned slightly red as he smiled nervously.

_No…_

Rothen chuckled as he felt the slight embarrassment. But then his expression grew serious.

_Could you possibly check on her? No-one has seen her all day._

Feeling the twinge of alarm, Rothen waited.

_Yeah, sure._

Dorrien hesitated.

_If I get the time, I will come down and visit you._

Mildly surprised, Rothen smiled.

_Thank you. Goodbye Dorrien._

_Goodbye, Father._

Dorrien sighed and got to his feet.

**A couple of minutes later…**

**Sonea's room**

_Sonea!_

Someone was calling her. That was wrong. She was sitting on the bank of a river. She could feel the water trickling between her toes, cold and fresh, and the soft touch of the sun caressing her cheek. She could taste the pachi wine on her tongue and her nose was now full of the intoxicating aroma of the warm bread she lifted to her mouth. Beside her, Dorrien was lying asleep in the grass. The world was so green, the sky was so blue.

_Sonea!_

Hearing a soft groan behind her, Sonea turned to see Dorrien waking up. A smile lit up her face. Feeling unaccountably bold, she lay down next to him on the soft grass and pulled his arm and around her waist.

Sonea sighed in content.

_Hmm…Dorrien…_

Long pause.

_Err…hello little Sonea…_

_Hmm…?_

Suddenly aware of what was actually happening, Sonea wrenched herself out of her dream as she gasped in horrified shock and bolted upright.

_Oh…shit!_


	13. Dreams

_**A/N: Hey! Thanks for the reviews, I would have updated sooner, except I couldn't go onto the internet becuase the computer went spaztic. So sorry about that. Anyways, it's working now - hooray! This contains Dorrien being a bit of a dumb blonde (yeah, he's blonde, i dunno if he is in the books, but he is in this fic anyway) and Sonea not enjoying her life all that much, but then at the moment, who can blame her? I don't really care about reviews. Feel free to review if you want, but it doesn't really matter if you don't. It's kinda short as well, this chapter. Anyways, here it is.**_

12

**Dorrien POV**

_Sonea! _

Pause. Nothing.

Then an image appeared in my head. There was a young woman sitting in the grass on the bank of a shallow, clear river. Her feet were suspended just above the shimmering water. It was a beautiful day, sometime in Summer. She looked up as she took a bit out of some bread. It gave me a chance to look at her closer. She had long black hair that shone faintly dark brown in the bright sunlight. Her pale smooth skin glowed, as a smile lit up her face. I blinked in surprise. She was also, I noticed, very beautiful.

_This young woman must be very popular with the men._

A strong warm sensation of peace and happiness.

I smiled, but at the same time felt a little uneasy at the thought of spying on someone's private thoughts.

Focussing on why I was here in the first place, I called out to Sonea again.

_Sonea!_

As the image zoomed in, I felt a mild annoyance.

_Why was this still here?_

But as the woman came into view I gasped in surprise. It was Sonea.

She stood up and turned her head, as if looking straight at me. So when a big, warm smile split her face and her black eyes sparkled, my heart melted and ached awfully at the same time. And suddenly, I wanted nothing more in the world, than for her to look at me that way.

The image then focussed on what it was she was looking at. Another person was lying in the grass, their face obscured by the overgrown grass. A man.

And for the first time in a long time, I felt a cold hard stab of jealousy.

I forced myself to look upon my enemy, to know who it was that had claimed Sonea's heart.

_Stop being so selfish. If she truly loves this man and he loves her back, you should be happy for her. Happy for them._

As the face was revealed, it showed the blond hair, the closed eyes, the tanned skin, the long slim body and the playful smile on his lips. My heart shattered.

_She even chose someone that looks like me! _

Except for the fact that he was much better looking than I was.

I watched as Sonea grinned mischievously, lying down on the grass next to him and pulled his arm around her waist. I felt a lump lodge itself in my throat and pushed down a sob.

This was enough. I had had enough. I wanted her to wake up and stop thinking about this. Just WAKE UP!

_Hmm…Dorrien…_

And as stupid and as cheesy as this sounds, I swear time actually stopped.

**Sonea POV**

I felt all the warmth leave my face at once. Grabbing my pillow, I thrust it over my face and screamed. I screamed as loud as I possibly could. I screamed until I felt dizzy and sick and my throat screamed in agony.

_Oh God, please tell me this isn't happening._

_This can't be happening. There is no way my luck is that bad._

_Sonea._

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

_Hello, Dorrien._

Short, awkward pause.

_How are you?_

_Just peachy_, I mused.

_I'm fine, you?_

_Yes, I'm fine. Listen Sonea, are you sure you're alright?_

I rolled my eyes in mild annoyance.

Considering everything that had happened in the last 24 hours, that was a pretty stupid question. But then again, he didn't know about any of that.

_Unless someone told him._

My breath caught in my throat.

_Sonea?_

_Yes, I'm sure. Don't worry about me. I smiled grimly._

A faint sense of defeat wafted over me.

_Where are you now?_

Slightly surprised by that question, I answered cautiously.

_My room at the High Lord' s Residence. _

I sent him a picture of the room.

_OK, then. Farewell, little Sonea._

_Goodbye, Dorrien._

And then his mind voice disappeared.

Weak from screaming and fear, I flopped back onto his pillow. A small, pitiful noise reached my mouth. A whimper. I groaned and hit my forehead with my hand.

_I hate my life._

**Dorrien POV**

_My God, that was awkward. _

It didn't take a genius to realise that she was lying. She wasn't OK. And yeah, that may have had something to do with what I saw, but I got the feeling that wasn't all of it. I needed to see her. And Father. As Lady Indria announced that work was over, I headed over to the stables and untied my horse.

_Looks like I'll be returning to the Guild a lot sooner than I thought._

That was my last thought before I got on the horse and galloped away into the distance.


	14. Luck

**A/N: Hey hey! Thanks for the reviews - much appreciated! Sorry for the slight delay, I've been busy re-decorating the house. Yeah, um...this is the last chapter I've written - that does not mean this is the end of the story. Far from it. But it does mean that I won't be able to update that regularly. But stay with me here, people! Cos coming up in the next few chapters: Dorrien and Sonea meet face to face, Detective Akkarin is reduced to eavesdropping and there's a showdown between Akkarin and Lorlen in the Night Room. Anyways, in this chapter, Rothen is feeling unloved, Sonea is once again getting publicly humilated (poor girl) and Regin...well, just read the chapter. Anyways, here it is. Enjoy! Reviews are always welcome.**

'Lady Sonea?'

Sonea looked up at the door. Exerting her will, it swung open soundlessly. She watched in surprise as Takan entered her room and bowed gracefully.

'Lord Rothen wishes to see you in his classroom.'

Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Realising what this could mean, Sonea's face turned pale and sickly.

_What if it is Regin again?_

Sonea closed her eyes.

_No, Regin wouldn't dare attack me in broad daylight, she mused looking out of the window to check her theory._

_So? You didn't exactly think that Regin would rape you either…_

As she saw the sun beginning to disappear below the horizon, Sonea frowned.

_I have to get there and back before sun goes down._

Nodding to herself, Sonea got up.

'Thank you, I will go to him.'

**...**

Sonea stood at the front door of the High Lord's Residence. She knew she would have to go out eventually, but she had hoped it would be later rather than sooner.

_But then again, this is Rothen. The last time he called me, I ended up losing him as a guardian – so this could be quite important._

As she grasped the door handle, Takan appeared behind her. Seeing her hesitate, Takan stepped forward cautiously.

'I can come with you, if you want.'

Turning to face him, Sonea smiled gratefully.

'Thanks, but I have to do this alone.'

She took one last deep breath, before the door opened and shut with a firm 'thud'.

**...**

Hearing the door creak, Rothen looked up from his desk and sighed. The breeze kept pushing the door open. He would have shut the door, but he was expecting Sonea anytime soon.

_I hope she got my message. _

Rothen's mouth curled downwards. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

_She's not a helpless little child anymore. She can take care of herself._

But as he remembered what Dorrien had told him not long ago, Rothen found himself becoming more and more uncertain.

_If Dorrien couldn't find out what was wrong with her, how am I?_

Rothen gritted his teeth slightly.

_If only I could talk to her in private…_

Rothen snorted at himself in mock amusement.

_That's not going to happen, is it?_

Hearing at knock on the door, Rothen's thoughts stopped at once and he looked in the doorway.

What he saw made him smile.

'You sent for me, Rothen?'

'Yes, Sonea. Come in. Make yourself at home.'

Sonea sighed quietly and walked towards Rothen's desk. It had been a long time since the Guild had felt like home.

At least 3 months, anyway…

Rothen made a lazy gesture with his hand and the door closed behind them.

Sonea made her way over to Rothen's desk and stood there in silence as Rothen was still writing a letter. Not even looking up, he made a strange gesture and a wooden chair slid towards Sonea.

'Take a seat.'

Sonea swallowed and sat down slowly.

_Oh God, what's happened now? _

Rothen paused briefly before continuing with his letter.

'You weren't in class today.'

Sonea breathed a small sigh of relief. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.

'No. I didn't feel well this morning. But I am fine, now. I shall return to classes tomorrow.'

Sonea resisted the urge to cringe at her statement.

_Now I _have_ to go back tomorrow. Me and my big mouth._

Rothen smiled softly.

'If I was any other teacher, I probably would have believed that.'

Signing the letter with a flourish, Rothen pushed the letter to one side.

Looking up at her, he leaned forward slightly.

'What's wrong, Sonea?'

Sonea's heart gave a little squeeze as she heard the care and worry in his voice.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Smiling sadly, Rothen continued.

'I'm not going to force you to tell me what has happened, I only want you to know that if you ever want to talk, I'm here for you.'

Sonea wanted to laugh sourly.

_Talking won't help the situation any better. _

Seeing her frown deepen, Rothen sighed. He wished he could do more to help her, but he knew that was impossible. He was no longer his novice. He was just another teacher.

_Just another teacher…_

He had never actually thought about it like that. And he understood why. A horrible crushing feeling gripped his heart. Everything that they had endured over the last two years had come to nothing. They had to sacrifice everything, just because of one man's greed and lust for power. Feeling anger and fury bubble up like acid in his stomach, Rothen looked down at the ground, trying to get himself to calm down.

Sonea looked at Rothen, a faint crease between her eyebrows. She sighed sadly.

_He hates this as much as I do._

Hearing the bell for the evening meal chime, Sonea looked out of the window and realised with horror that the sun had almost disappeared below the horizon.

Her eyes darted back to Rothen.

'Is there anything else, Rothen?' she said, a hint of impatience in her voice.

Rothen looked up at her, a flicker of hurt darted across his eyes and Sonea immediately felt guilty.

_He thinks I don't want to talk to him._

Putting an impassive mask on his face, Rothen told her that the homework was to read pages 48-55 in her textbook and to answer the questions on page 52. Sonea nodded solemnly and hoping not to seem too hasty, she got up, bowed gracefully and hurried out of the classroom.

Rothen's eyes bored into her back as she left the classroom, he shook his head sadly.

_I always pick the difficult ones, don't I?_

Rothen chuckled grimly as he closed the door.

_Oh Sonea, what have you done now?_

**...**

Breathing a short sigh of relief, Sonea closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax. At least, the situation didn't get that much worse.

'Oh, you bad girl Sonea.'

Sonea's blood turned to ice as she froze and slowly turned to face the speaker.

Regin grinned at her from further down the empty corridor.

Sonea scowled ferociously at him.

'Piss off, Regin.'

Regin tutted at her.

'Temper temper, my dear. It's OK, I understand. I'm too young for your tastes – you prefer…' he glanced at Rothen's door '…more experienced men.'

Appalled, Sonea made a face of utter disgust at him at turned to leave.

'I see you abandoned Administrator Lorlen.' He continued.

Sonea felt her breath freeze in her throat as she froze in shock horror.

'Were his standards a little too…err, high for you? Or are you not satisfied by men that don't already have children older than yourself?'

Tension gripped her body. Her knuckles were white she was clenching her fists so hard. The heat of her fury rushed to her face and she prepared a powerful forcestrike, shaping it into a faintly glowing blue ball of light, which she kept floating just above the palm of her hand. Feeling incredibly smug, Regin made a glowing ball of red light. Stunstrike.

'Come on then, Sonea!'

Her expression darkening, Sonea walked away from Regin, in the direction of the High Lord's Residence.

_Be the better person…_

'Oh come on! Don't tell me the High Lord's Novice is afraid of a little fight!'

Sonea carried on walking, her vision blurred and hazy with the intense anger and hatred that threatened to overwhelm her.

As Sonea disappeared from sight, a class of Third-Years and a class of First-Years left the other classrooms on the corridor. Regin grinned triumphantly, as he realised that all the people on the corridor must have heard the conversation. They murmured quietly to their friends, casting questioning glances at Regin.

Chuckling darkly, Regin turned around and headed for the Food Hall, feeling better than he had done in a long, long time.


	15. In The Shadows

**A/N: Hey hey! Sorry for the delay, I had to help out my mum, cos we're re-decorating the house. That and art coursework... But anyways, I have good news. I have two new chapters. Both of which I will post today! Here's the first chapter. Akkarin's being nosy and Sonea's being grouchy - but who can blame her? Enjoy. Kind of. Anyway...**

14

The darkness seemed to settle over the land like a thick velvet smog, hanging low over the sky. A few bright objects stood out however, like candles in the dark. The gleaming white walls of the University looming in the distance, the moon appearing in the occasional gaps between the clouds, the white horse appearing at the top of the hill overlooking the city. The horse halted at the top of the hill as if regarding the sprawling mess below that was Imardin. After a brief pause, it hurtled down the rough path leading towards the city. A few slum dwellers looked up as it darted past them, the hooded rider dressed in long robes that rippled in rhythm to the horse's movements, flashing dark green in the moonlight. Passing through the gates to the Inner City without hesitation, the hollow sound of horse hoofs echoed down the cobbled streets as the rider continued undeterred towards his destination - The Magician's Guild.

**...**

Across the road from the University, partially hidden behind the trees, The High Lord's residence seemed to welcome the darkness, allowing it to blend into the background. In fact, if it wasn't for the two lights already on, anyone would have mistaken it as a piece of the forest. The brighter of these lights was on the top floor of residence. Inside the room, the man with long black hair was lying on the four-poster bed. Wearing a plain white shirt and a pair of black trousers, he looked like a normal, average person – something which was virtually impossible for him. He looked relaxed, but he never was. He couldn't afford to be completely relaxed.

Akkarin's eyes flickered open. There was a certain guarded quality about them, a sense of tension. Anticipation. Hearing the bell chime solemnly in the background, he wordlessly got up and wandered over to his wardrobe. Sighing heavily, he reached out for the heavy black magician's robes and began putting them on. He was going to the Night Room, which was rare for him. Akkarin didn't bother going to the Night Room, because no-one ever talked about anything interesting when he was there. He preferred to find out what his 'little family' was up to through Lorlen. Akkarin's expression darkened.

_Lorlen._

Akkarin felt an unexpected pang of concern. They had been best friends for almost 20 years. And something was wrong with him. Something had happened to Lorlen, but Akkarin didn't know what. It seemed no-one else did either. But it was clear that the Higher Magicians wanted the situation sorted out as soon as possible – all day long they had been sending him meaningful glances and subtly requesting that he attend tonight. As Lorlen's only superior and closest friend, he guessed they were counting on him to solve the problem.

_Why didn't he just tell me before?_

_Because he doesn't trust you._

Akkarin sighed. He paused and scowled.

_Why am I feeling guilty? At least I'm not a rapist._

_Oh for God's sake, get a grip! Lorlen is not a rapist! So stop acting like a sulky, jealous novice!_

Akkarin winced slightly. It was the unfortunate truth. At the end of the day, if this was true, Lorlen had taken not only his novice, but the woman he loved. Akkarin gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Suddenly, there was a 'thud' on the window of Sonea's room. Feeling curious, Akkarin left his room and made his way downstairs, to see what was going on.

Sonea POV

The sun had faded away a few hours ago and ever since my argument with Regin outside Rothen's classroom, I had all but locked myself in my room. Partly out of shame for being humiliated (once again), partly out of what Akkarin would say if he heard about my argument with Regin and partly because part of me was hoping that if I closed my eyes and wished hard enough, everything would go back to normal – like this was all just a bad dream. Yes. This was it all a dream.

_A horribly demented nightmare._

As the blackness swirled around me, I felt my eyelids droop.

_That's right. Go to sleep. Any second now, I'm going to wake up and realise I've been dreaming the last two days…_

THUD!

My eyelids shot open. I groaned in frustration and irritation.

_Couldn't Regin wait until tomorrow?_

I rolled my eyes and got out of bed to see what he wanted.

Somewhat stumbling over to the windowsill, I shoved the window open in annoyance and stuck my head out. Most of the Guild grounds had surrendered to the darkness of the night, except for the University which shone like a big, marble beacon in the distance.

'Sonea!' a voice whispered in the darkness.

_So much for a false alarm…_

I felt annoyed at the fact that I had no idea who was calling me.

'Who are you?' I whispered back.

The voice chuckled, sounding amused.

I growled quietly. I wasn't in the mood for playing games.

Suddenly, a globe light appeared directly underneath my window.

Making a noise of complaint, I put my hand up to cover my eyes and peered downwards. I saw the playful smile, the bright blue eyes.

_Oh no…_

I saw the grinning face, bright with amusement.

'Hello little Sonea,' Dorrien said, and my heart imploded.

_Oh, you have GOT to be_ joking!


	16. Heartbreaker

**A/N: Here it is - I'm keeping my promise - the next chapter is here. This chapter is all Sonea's POV. If people think I'm being mean to Dorrien, I'm not. Well, I'm not trying to anyway. It's just he's the only one that doesn't know what's going on. So he's bound to be a little bit ignorant about what's going on, seriously though, I like Dorrien...not as much as I like Lorlen but still ...anyways, this the chapter before the big showdown. Sonea hits ROCK BOTTOM (no exaggeration), Dorrien is getting him heart broken, Akkarin is breaking people's hearts, and possibly more than just other people's heart by the sound of it...and you have to feel sorry for Lorlen. Well, I do anyway .**

15

Sonea POV

Suddenly I felt the overwhelming urge to cry. The sight of Dorrien, which even yesterday would have made my heart leap for joy, was now just yet ANOTHER problem I had to add to my rapidly growing sack of problems.

_Talk about be careful what you wish for…_

But I had to admit, this really was the cherry on top of an already _fantastic_ day.

I choked back a sob.

_Why couldn't life be fair for once?_

'Now, are you going to tell me what's really wrong or not?' he said, his face serious and concerned.

I wanted to burst out laughing. That was the _stupidest_ question I had EVER heard in my entire life! I imagined how I would have replied to that question. I would lean further out of the window, stare into his _beautiful_ blue eyes and say this:

'OK. You wanna know what's really wrong, Dorrien?

How about the fact that I'm cowering away in my room because I'm frightened one of my classmates is going to attack and _rape_ me and that that novice will go and tell everyone about it? Or the fact that I have NO-ONE to talk to about it except for my guardian's _best friend_, who happens to be a _30-year-old guy_? Or the fact that I'm terrified that said man is going to tell my guardian, who is in fact the reason I let my classmates attack and rape me in the first place? Or that my ex-guardian will find out, lose all respect for me and tell YOU - the love of my life! Or, worse-case scenario, that the ex-guardian mentioned will think so little of me, that he decides to tell everyone that my current guardian is in fact a murderous _lunatic_ that goes around killing slum-dwellers and blackmailing people – causing current guardian to go _COMPLETELY MENTAL_ and kill all the magicians in the Allied Lands, including you, _Dorrien,_ who disappears for months on end, _breaking my heart_ and then appears at the WORST POSSIBLE TIME. Do you not see that the fate of EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE ALLIED LANDS IS IN MY HANDS?!

Oh yeah, and did I mention the fact your father and the second most powerful magician alive are being blackmailed into keeping silent by the same psycho guardian and it's all because I decided to be nosy and not mind my own business?'

The look on his face would have been _priceless_.

But unfortunately, I wasn't _that_ suicidal and though Dorrien was acting like a complete idiot – he didn't deserve to die because of it. Not to mention the fact that the 'psycho guardian' was in a room 10 paces away.

I smiled softly at him.

'I'm fine, Dorrien. I'm just a bit tired – can't wait for the year to end.'

I added a convincing little laugh at the end.

Dorrien relaxed and smiled sympathetically. He fell for it.

_Damn, I'm good._

Hearing faint voices in the distance, I looked up and saw magicians literally cramming into the Night Room. I frowned.

Something big was going on. I wonder what had happened…

Remembering what I had just been yelling about in my head, I glared at the magicians petrified. Following my gaze, Dorrien looked over at the Night Room.

'Oh yeah.' He said, no trace of humor in his voice at all.

'Everyone's gathering around to watch the fight.' He continued.

_Uh-oh…_

'Fight?' I asked, genuinely curious.

'Yeah. Apparently one of the Higher Magicians had bedded a novice and they got caught by one of the novice's classmates.'

I gasped.

_That's disgusting! One of the Higher Magicians, too! It's like you can't trust anyone anymore…_

'I know.' Dorrien echoed my thoughts. He grimaced.

'Unfortunately, for them, the novice's guardian found out – and he is NOT happy.'

I breathed out slowly. Apparently, some people were having an even worse day than I was!

'Who was the novice?' I asked.

Dorrien shrugged his shoulders.

'I don't know. I only just got here a couple of minutes ago.' Dorrien said, sounding a bit frustrated.

I gasped softly. I was the first person he came to see when he arrived.

_Oh Dorrien…_

'You mean, you came here straight from the stables? You came to see me first?' I asked, my heart fluttering in my chest.

Dorrien beamed and I melted away.

'Of course, Sonea – I lo-'

Just then the front door opened. I didn't even need to ask who it was.

My very own 'psycho guardian' stepped out of the Residence, frowning deeply. Catching sight of Dorrien, the globe light and me half-hanging out my bedroom window, he stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened slightly – his version of complete astonishment.

He stared at me for a moment, before his eyes flickered to Dorrien. His jaw tightened slightly and his eyes narrowed a bit. Dorrien just bowed politely.

'High Lord.' He muttered.

Something flashed across Akkarin's gaze for a moment.

'Lord Dorrien.' He replied, a slight edge in his voice. And then, just like that, he was gone. My eyes followed him across the grass and…_towards _the Night Room.

My mouth dropped open. I didn't think Akkarin would be there to watch!

Dorrien whistled quietly.

'Talk about tension.' He muttered.

'Why is Akkarin going?' I wondered aloud.

'Well, someone's got to play referee, I suppose.' He said, smiling grimly.

He smiled at me, but something was wrong this time. His smile wasn't right. He was forcing it too much.

'I'm going to find Father, now. Goodbye, little Sonea.'

I smiled back.

'Goodbye, Dorrien.'

He turned away and walked away.

Suddenly remembering something I was going to ask him, I called out to him.

'Dorrien!'

He turned around and his eyes glinted with something I couldn't make out.

'Yes?'

'Who was the Higher Magician that got caught?'

Dorrien blinked and then scowled at the ground.

'You'd never guess.' He said quietly.

'Who?' I asked, feeling a bit anxious now.

He sighed heavily.

'Lorlen.'

Dorrien turned and walked away. He didn't look back. And I'm glad he didn't.

I was so unbelievably shocked, I forgot how to breath for a few seconds. I let out a strangled choking noise.

_LORLEN?! Of all people! _

No. There has to be a mistake. Lorlen would never do this.

Never.

_My God…_

Dorrien's words had finally begun to sink in, as I slumped to the floor in my room.

_But who was the novice?_

And then I realised.

I remembered the argument with Regin. What he had said.

_Appalled, Sonea made a face of utter disgust at him at turned to leave._

_'I see you abandoned Administrator Lorlen.' He continued._

_Sonea felt her breath freeze in her throat as she froze in shock horror._

_'Were his standards a little too…err, high for you? Or are you not satisfied by men that don't already have children older than yourself?'_

Classes weren't over yet. People were still in the classrooms. They would have had EVERYTHING. And if Akkarin heard that somehow…

Completely horrified, I gasped loudly and looked at the Night Room.

_Oh my God, LORLEN!!_

Akkarin was going to fight Lorlen!

And Lorlen would get absolutely _annihilated!_

My hand flew to my mouth, to stop myself screaming.

_Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod._

The words repeated themselves over and over in some kind of demented mantra. Concentrated panic seeped into my blood system, made my head swirl and I felt dizzy and sick.

Suddenly, my mind was made up.

I had to get to the Night Room, before Akkarin killed Lorlen.

Scrambling up, I held onto the windowsill and instinctively looked out of the window.

And I froze.

Rothen and Dorrien were standing outside the Night Room. They were talking.

THEY WENT IN.

I hurled myself away from the windowsill and towards the bedroom door.

If this all came out, they would all know what Regin had done to me. And Akkarin was be revealed. He'd kill everyone.

Lorlen, Rothen, Dorrien.

_All dead_.

That was it. In the back of mind, I felt something take my legs from under me and then I was tumbling. Falling head first into the darkness. I didn't even feel the impact of my head against the floor.

Probably because I was out before I hit it.


	17. The Rescue Mission

**A/N: Oh my God, an update! Alleluia! I'm sorry it took so long - I've just been so busy. But yeah, next chapter, which is a different version to the one I wrote before - Lorlen does NOT die and Akkarin doesn't cry. This is kinda part 1 of a two part chapter - I'll post the second bit soon hopefully. OK, I don't think this is that good (sorry =S) but I felt bad for not updating.**

**Recap, Lorlen thinks Akkarin is gonna kill him because he is so mad at him with the whole Sonea thing, Akkarin just wants to find out what the hell is going on, Sonea is currently unconscious after she passed out. Dont really know what Dorrien's doing at the moment...but anyway, on with the story! ^^**

Lorlen POV

The mood in the Night Room was unlike anything I had ever felt.

The raw excitement was like a fog, it lingered dull and heavy in the air. I breathed in and my chest immediately tightened – it was like breathing in syrup. A small disgusted noise erupted from my mouth.

_How could so many people have heard so quickly? _

_How could so many people accept this lie so easily?_

_How could so many people HATE me this much?_

I guess it was all still sinking in. I had only discovered what was truly going on an hour ago…

_FLASHBACK:_

_Osen had come to tell me to stop my work immediately._

_I looked up confused._

_'Why?' I asked._

_Osen just smiled sadly._

_'Surely you must want to do other things with your time than work?'_

_I blinked._

_Why, was something happening tonight?_

_I groaned._

_'The Night Room.'_

_Osen's face grew solemn._

_'I'll carry the work on for you tomorrow.'_

_He hesitated._

_'Good luck, Administrator Lorlen.'_

_And then he bowed and disappeared out the_ door.

Something big was going to happen to me in the Night Room.

Something bad by the sound of it.

_Something like a confrontation with Akkarin._

It wasn't just him who was angry with me. The rest of the Higher Magicians had been acting very hostile today. So I must have done something bad. And Regin was grinning his face off at me in the Dining Hall. What links Akkarin to Regin – Sonea. And what did Regin accuse Rothen of doing to Sonea before?

And my God, was Akkarin going to be _MAD._

I looked around at the crowd of magicians surrounding me. There was a harsh truth to face. These people were expecting the two of us to fight. But this wasn't going to be a fight. This was going to be an execution.

_My execution_.

Akkarin POV

I slowed my pace as I approached the Night Room. Although I was looking at the building, my mind was somewhere else. With Sonea and Dorrien. I knew that he liked her, the whole-gazing-at-her-affectionately thing was a bit of a give away. I smirked.

_Poor boy, doesn't have a clue what he getting himself into. _

But Sonea wouldn't get him involved, she'd want to keep him out of all of this in case I decided to do something irrational and stupid. Which was proof of just how much she liked him back. My heart clenched slightly.

I rolled my eyes.

_Well what do you expect? She's not exactly going to fall in love with you after everything. It was only a matter of time until someone else liked her…_

I snapped back into reality and focussed on why I was going to the Night Room in the first place. Checking that Lorlen had actually turned up in the first place, I closed my eyes and focussed on the blood ring. An image of the Night Room appeared. I groaned.

It was packed! Every magician in the Guild must have been there.

_Except the Higher Magicians of course…_

As Lorlen caught a scornful glance from an elderly Warrior near him, Lorlen became tense and anxious again. A flicker of sympathy wafted over me.

_No. Don't feel sorry for him until you know everything._

Despair and anger washed over Lorlen.

**How could so many people have heard so quickly? **

**How could so many people accept this lie so easily?**

**How could so many people HATE me this much?**

The flicker of sympathy was stronger now, not so easy to block out this time. It was true, the Lower Magicians always jumped to conclusions. Always assumed the worst.

Lorlen began to daydream, his mind drifting back to a conversation he had with Osen.

A strange feeling appeared when I saw Osen.

I had never liked him that much, I never really understood why. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was so used to being Lorlen's only close friend, that when I arrived back from Sachaka, I felt slightly jealous that my friend's attention was now split.

It was strange anyway.

As I listened, I heard Lorlen reflecting on something strange that Osen had said.

_Good luck? What was happening?_

But as I continued listening, my brain went numb with shock, fear and horror.

_A fight._

I glanced back at the magicians crowding around the entrance. I choked back a noise of horror. They were here to watch some kind of weird, demented gladiator fight between the two of us.

Fury welled up inside of me.

_How DARE they!_

A deep despair saturated my thoughts. Lorlen believed he was going to die. He believed I was going to kill him.

_Well he's wrong._

I'd known him about 20 years and he was the closest thing I had to a brother. No way was it going to end like this.

Besides, I needed Lorlen alive to explain exactly what happened.

In the background, my mind was already thinking of ways to somehow get Lorlen out of the Night Room and meet him without anyone noticing. Then it came to me, a trick I had used to 'liberate' a bottle of wine from the Night Room when I was a novice. I smirked.

**Lorlen.**

Dread and fear smothered him. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Did he really have no trust in me at all?

**Akkarin.**

**Lorlen, I need you to do something for me - this is all going to work out fine, I promise, just follow these instructions.**

Lorlen POV

Akkarin's somewhat normal manner calmed me down quite a lot. He didn't actually sound all the angry with me, which was a good sign – maybe I could leave tonight no worse than unconscious!

**Concentrate Lorlen. Now, to your right on the wall, there is a mirror. Go and stand in front of it.**

A mirror? Strange way to start to an apparently fool-proof plan.

_I hope he knows what's he's doing…_

Trying not to stand out too much, I got up cautiously and walked towards the full length mirror.

A pale, sombre looking man glared back at me. Wow, I had really aged over the last few months…

I heard a chuckle.

**Stop being so vain and focus.**

The humor died away.

**OK, on the left side of the mirror, there is a crescent shaped chip.**

Slightly surprised, I gazed down and found that there was indeed a crescent shaped chip just below where my hand was now.

_How did he know all this?_

**Dig one fingernail into that chip and wait a moment.**

Feeling slightly stupid, I followed Akkarin's instructions and dug my fingernail into the strange shape.

Suddenly, the room was plunged into darkness. Exclamations of shock and surprise rippled through the room. I watched in curiosity and alarm.

_Was Akkarin behind this? What was the point of this? _

And that was when I realised that the hand on the mirror had moved. I sent my senses outwards and nearly laughed out loud.

The mirror had opened inwards.

It was a doorway! The mirror was a doorway – this was my ticket out of all this mess.

Euphoria washed over me.

_Oh thank you, Akkarin!_

A smug satisfaction rippled across my senses.

**Move, now - before they see you!**

I watched in panic as a globe appeared on the far side of the room, quickly followed by another one and another one. They multiplied rapidly now, the globe lights quickly making their way across the room towards me.

I hurriedly stepped through the doorway and closed the door silently behind me.

*

Turning around, I opened my eyes and found myself in the Banquet Room. I breathed a sigh of relief.

'What on earth would you do without me, Lorlen?'

A faintly amused voice cut through the silence of the room.

Even though the lights were all off, I could still tell it was him.

'Carry on with life as normal, it'd probably be a great deal simpler without you actually.'

I was surprised how steady and confident my voice sounded.

The dark silhouette snorted in disbelief as it sauntered towards me.

'You may not realise it now, but you and the rest of the Guild would probably be dead without me.'

A hint of steel echoed through Akkarin's voice.

I looked away.

He could say whatever he wanted. I wouldn't believe him until I saw proof.

I didn't see his face, but I felt his emotions seep through.

The irritation, the sadness, the anxiety.

_Wait, anxiety?_

Why would Akkarin be anxious…unless there was something he didn't want me to know.

I glanced suspiciously at the silhouette.

Dread.

_There was something he hadn't told me._

I opened my mouth, ready to ask the question that had been eating away at me for some time now – when he held up a hand, as if to silence me.

I glared at him in anger.

What's his problem?

**Wait…**

In the distance, I heard the Night Room fall silent. A familiar voice said something, the words muffled by the walls. But the presences in the Night Room began to leave. They were leaving.

It was all over.

The nightmare was over.

_No, it isn't._

Akkarin was still here – and he obviously wasn't finished with me yet.

'Now that's been taken care of…'

The lights flashed on in the Banquet Room. I squinted, my eyes having to adjust to light again.

I heard footsteps pad across the carpet as Akkarin approached me. I looked up at his face, his expression was severe, all traces of humor had evaporated.

My friend Akkarin had disappeared – the High Lord had returned.

I gulped loudly.

The High's Lord's eyes narrowed.

'…I think you and I need to have a little chat.'


	18. Revelations

**A/N: Well would you look at that! No updates for ages, then two in one week! I know, talk about about erratic...**

**Anyways, yeah...I kinda changed how this chapter was originally going to go *sees people glaring at her* I know! I remember what happened last time this happened! Which is why I need you guys to review, please? Oh yeah I'm gonna delete the old version of the chapter I just posted - if that's already with you...**

**Anyways the pennys dropped for Dorrien, Lorlen has had enough and Akkarin's life is slowly imploding =(**

17

The crowd of magicians trickled out of the Night Room reluctantly, many still disappointed that the main spectacle had been 'cancelled'. A Higher magician by the name of Lord Balkan, stood triumphantly in the doorway to the Night Room, watching the departing magicians. The other two magicians, a tall Healer and a middle-aged Alchemist made their way back to the Magician's Quarters.

'So what do you think that was all about?' the purple-robed magician asked.

'I don't know. I think something was supposed to happen, but then there was a change of plans.'

The older magician's eyebrows knitted together.

'What do you mean?'

'Did you not notice how Lorlen suddenly vanished when the lights went off?'

Rothen turned to his son.

'No, I wasn't really watching Lorlen, I was waiting for Akkarin.'

Dorrien frowned.

'Akkarin? Why were you waiting for him?'

Rothen smiled sadly.

'I was hoping this little debate they were going to have would answer some questions I have…'

Dorrien halted in his tracks. Rothen turned to his son worried.

'Dorrien? What's wrong?'

As his mind put all the pieces of the puzzle together, Dorrien's expression morphed into one of horror. His face turned a sickly chalky colour and a raspy cough passed between his lips.

Rothen was truly alarmed now.

'Dorrien?'

But Dorrien didn't hear him. His brain was too busy trying to digest the information. That Lorlen was meant to meet _Akkarin_. That the reason they were meeting was to fight because Lorlen apparently bedded Akkarin's novice, which would mean that…

Dorrien spun around, his eyes locking on the window of Sonea's room.

_Oh my God…_

*

A very different atmosphere could be felt in the Banquet Room, where the two most powerful magicians in the Allied Lands sat. A black robed High Lord sat on a chair, glaring with steely eyes at his closest friend, a blue robed Administrator who looked distinctly uncomfortable.

'I sincerely hope your guilt isn't the reason why you look so nervous.'

Lorlen shifted slightly. Indeed, being guilty did play a big part in why he was looking so nervous, but it wasn't himself he was trying to protect – it was Sonea. He had told her he would keep this a secret – and not tell Akkarin. But as Lorlen met his superior's gaze, he knew keeping it a secret would be a lot harder than he had previously thought.

Akkarin's expression darkened at Lorlen's lack of an answer.

'You're not making your case any stronger by ignoring my question, Lorlen.'

A spark of anger flickered across Lorlen's eyes.

_This was almost exactly what happened last time_, Lorlen mused.

_I knew something, I wouldn't tell Akkarin because I had promised not to, so he forced me to tell him…_

Lorlen suddenly realised something. He glanced back at his friend suspiciously.

_Akkarin still hasn't explained the whole thing about black magic. _

_He promised he would._

The flicker of anger ignited something inside him. Lorlen was no longer intimidated by the man in front of him.

_Why is he trying to make me feel bad for something I didn't even do? It's not like he has a clear record._

'I'm not ignoring your question.' Lorlen started, his voice stronger than it had been before. Akkarin's expression faltered.

_If Lorlen was guilty, why would he suddenly be so confident?_

Seeing the subtle crack in the High Lord's gaze gave Lorlen the confidence boost he needed.

'Why have you been acting so hostile today? This can't just be because of a rumour.'

Akkarin met Lorlen's gaze easily, the serious mask firmly back in place.

'You're in no position to ask questions, Lorlen. This is a serious matter, Lorlen. You could be stripped of your title and expelled from the Guild if the rumour is true.'

Lorlen gaped silently in disbelief.

'You actually think I attacked Sonea, don't you?'

Akkarin's gaze dropped to the floor.

'I don't know, which is why you need to tell me what happened.' His voice considerably softer than before.

Lorlen snorted quietly.

Akkarin's eyes narrowed.

'Well, I haven't heard you deny it.' An irritated edge to his voice.

Lorlen spun around to face the High Lord, truly furious now.

'Because I thought you knew me well enough to know that I wouldn't do something like this!' Lorlen stated, not caring that his voice was raised.

In the back of his mind, the warning sirens were wailing – challenging a powerful black magician was not the smartest thing to do.

But Lorlen had gone past caring by now.

'What on earth happened to you when you went away anyway?'

At this, Akkarin stiffened, his gaze lifting to his friend's face.

'That has nothing to do with why we are here.' Akkarin snapped.

This was all wrong, he was supposed to be the one interrogating Lorlen, not the other way around – but at the same time, Akkarin knew that he should have seen this coming a long time ago. Lorlen wasn't one to take things without a fight – sooner or later he would start asking questions.

_It's just that now wasn't the best time to ask._

Unfortunatly, Lorlen didn't agree with that.

'It has everything to do with why we are here! My friend Akkarin wouldn't have needed proof. He would have realised that this was all a lie, that I would never do something like this!'

Something sharp pierced Akkarin's heart when he heard those words. An emotion. Regret? Sorrow? Confusion? Guilt.

At that moment, the High Lord disappeared and Akkarin returned.

'What do you mean? I am your friend Akkarin.'

Lorlen looked away.

'No you're not! That's the whole problem! Ever since you returned 5 years ago, you've been different. Quiet, mysterious, reclusive…'

An unnameable emotion filled Lorlen's eyes.

'I don't know who you are, but I want my friend back. The old Akkarin I knew as a novice.'

A horrible, wrenching feeling tore at Akkarin's heart.

A lump rose in this throat. He lowered his head, there was no way Lorlen could see him cry.

'You don't understand. You could never understand.' He whispered softly as his gaze landed on his left hand, where the tip of an old scar poked out from under his black robes.

Whoever knew something so small could mean so much?

'I didn't mean for this to happen. For any of it to happen…' he continued, talking to himself more than Lorlen.

Akkarin's head rose and Lorlen instinctively took a step back.

A fire burnt in his eyes, bright and strong.

'You think I don't want things to go back to how they were before? I wish it could, Lorlen, I really do. But it's just not possible anymore. Things can never be how they were before because you're right. I'm not the same person that left the Guild all those years ago.'

The fire in his eyes flickered and disappeared.

'I have changed.'

There was a silence. Lorlen had no idea what to say or do to that. All the hate and betrayal he had felt simply melted away. He felt awful for making his friend feel this way.

He took a step forward.

'Akkarin?'

Akkarin suddenly stiffened and Lorlen froze.

Akkarin got up.

'Excuse me.' Akkarin mumbled, not waiting to be excused.

Lorlen watched passively as Akkarin left the room, his head still recovering from wht had just happened.

Akkarin stopped at the doorway, not facing Lorlen.

'Tomorrow. I'll tell you everything tomorrow.' Akkarin said quietly. He paused briefly before he continued back to his Residence.

*

Takan was waiting for him when he entered. Even he was surprised to see the flustered, worried expression on his master's face.

_I wonder what happened…_

'Where is she?'

Takan was brought out of his musings by the slightly panicked voice. Takan wasted no time in leading Akkarin up the stairs and along the corridor to Sonea's room.

Akkarin rushed into the room as Takan stood in the doorway.

Sonea was lying on her bed, in the same position Takan had placed her in. Her face slightly paler than normal but other than that she looked asleep.

Akkarin sat down on a chair next to her and placed his hand on her forehead and extended his senses. His face relaxed as he sighed in relief.

She was alive. In shock perhaps, but alive.

Takan shifted uncomfortably in the doorway.

'Erm…master?'

Takan watched in amazement as Akkarin removed the long black robes, revealing a white shirt and black trousers.

'Should I fetch a Healer?' Takan inquired.

Akkarin dumped his robes in a corner of Sonea's room at sat back down. He glanced over his shoulder at Takan and smiled gently.

'Takan, I think I know how to heal someone well enough.'

Takan smiled in return, it had been a long time since he had seen his master truly smile.

For a while, he was sure Akkarin had forgotten how to.

'Is there anything else you need, master?' Takan asked politely.

Akkarin shook his head.

'No, I'm OK. I think I'll just stay here a while.'

Takan got the subtle hint and bowed mockingly before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Akkarin placed his hand gently on Sonea's forehead once more and sent a flow of Healing energy into her body. When she was healed, Akkarin paused to run his hand tentatively across her forehead, down the side of her face and stroked her pale, smooth jawline.

He smiled into the darkness.

The smile wobbled as the lump in his throat returned.

How had he gotten everything so wrong?

Akkarin folded his arms on Sonea's blanket and rested his head on them.

He breathed in the smell of the blanket, the smell of Sonea, the one thing in the world he would never be able to have.

It was too much for him.

A single tear dropped soundlessly onto the blanket.


	19. Despair

**A/N: *hides behind a big metal shield and bulletproof armour* Uh...hi. I actually have a reason why. I seriously considered abandoning the story, because I got my new beta reader to read over this and she said that after chapter 7 should just be deleted - and for a while I thought it should be too. But then I thought, hey, there aren't that many chapters left - I might as well finish what I started. So here it is the next chapter. It's a long one - but it's not that good...and I have a feeling some of you may find this quite OOC (as per usual) - so...yeah. **

**Ooh, I have an new idea for a new BMT story - which I hope to post soon, before someone else steals the idea because if they do - I will cry =(. Anyway, onward!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except this plot.**

* * *

_Screams of terror pierced through her ears as she ran on, her pace never changing, her bare feet hitting every sharp stick, twig and stone lying in her path as she headed towards the forest at the edge of the Guild grounds. The obsidian night sky tinted red and orange as the flames licked hungrily at the buildings. _

_To her left, she gasped as the Healer's Quarters collapsed to the ground with an earth shattering thud, surrendering itself to the flames that engulfed it. Looking around, Sonea realised that almost every building was now on fire – except the Arena, which stood alone and powerless, drained of all its energy – a weak, feeble shell of its former self. _

_A lone figure ran out of the University, pausing at the horrifying spectacle before him. His dark hair fluttered wildly in the breeze. As he glanced around for survivors, his eyes settled on Sonea. _

_Haunted blue eyes bored in own. _

_Even now, Sonea felt her heart do funny little flip-flops. Then she saw matted hair, the blood – stained clothes…_

_Her eyes widened in alarm._

_'RUN SONEA! RUN!' Dorrien yelled at her, just before a horrible choking noise erupted from his mouth, crimson blood trickling down his chin. A long, curved blade protruded from his stomach, the blood blossoming around the wound staining his dark green robes brown._

_'NO!' Sonea yelled back in anguish, seeing his body crumple to the ground in a heap at the top of the University stairs. Behind him, a black silhouette retrieved the knife and clamped a hand over the wound._

_Sonea stumbled backwards, unable to believe what she was seeing. She could see it so clearly now, the forest surrounding the Guild rushing towards her as if to meet her – when suddenly she found her legs had stopped moving. Petrified, she desperately tried to move her legs. She looked down to see her legs flailing wildly beneath her, trying to move but the forest came no closer. A sob caught in her throat, slowly suffocating her as hot tears began to pour down her face. A warm wet hand clamped over her mouth, a warm liquid passing between her lips. _

_Sonea recognised the taste instantly._

_Blood._

_She screamed, the noise muffled by the hand. The figure spun her around to face him, his head still hidden beneath a large black hood._

_Large, black robes?_

_He pulled back his black hood, long black hair ruffled slightly; a crazed, sadistic smile on his face. He laughed harshly at her. _

_Akkarin._

_'No…' Sonea sobbed._

_This couldn't be happening!_

_She watched helplessly as he brought the sword up to face her, a feral smirk now on his face._

_'No!'_

_Something sinister flickered across the High Lord's face._

_'Goodbye, my dear…' he purred into her ear, his voice barely audible against the crackling fire in the background._

_Concentrated fear and something else she couldn't quite name saturated her blood as the weapon pricked the skin on the side of her neck._

_'NOOOOOOOO!'_

Sonea jerked herself upright, her hand clamped on the neck, eyes wide in horror and terror. Sweat coated her face as her eyes darted around the room she was in. The cream coloured walls, the old wooden floorboards, the antique bed she was lying in.

Her room. She was alive. Safe.

With a great sigh of relief, she flopped back onto her pillow, the back of her hand acting as an ice pack against her forehead.

Her eyes snapped open once again as she got off the bed, fighting the sheets as she did it and ran over to the windowsill. The sun shone brightly through the window, making Sonea grimace and shield her eyes.

_Everything seemed pretty normal…_

A wall of fury hit her, as she glared murderously at the floor.

_Calm down, it was just a dream. Everything is fine. NOTHING HAPPENED._

The fire in her eyes dimmed, but the disgust still remained.

A nauseous feeling festered at the bottom of her stomach, the memory of the metallic stench of Dorrien's blood filled her nose.

_I have to get out of here._

Putting on a plain white shirt and comfortable baggy trousers, Sonea hurried out of the room and down the stairs. Takan was in the kitchen at this time, preparing breakfast for the High Lord. He looked up in surprise as he heard hurried footsteps bound down the stairs, along the hallway and out the front door which slammed shut.

* * *

'There's the meeting with the Lord Ranil next Freeday and the papers about the incident in the Alchemy Lab…'

The young man sat in the chair, in the same position he had been in for the past half hour. He glanced down at the parchment and the pen he was holding in his hands. A small voice in the back of his head told him he should actually be paying attention and writing this down – but he couldn't. The words had no meaning, they were just syllables meshed together. Blank.

The Administrator continued to rant on in the background. Blank.

A drop of ink wobbled on the edge of the quill. It shivered. It fell. It hit the paper silently and spread outwards, a black drop in the desert…

'..and I've declared a ceasefire with the mudmen army so they can focus on recovering from the sudden attack by the two-headed rebers from Sachaka.'

Lord Osen nodded, not paying any attention to anything his mentor was saying.

Lorlen rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation.

'Osen! Wake up!'

The younger man jolted, his gaze settling on the annoyed but concerned face of the older man.

'I think you should get some rest, Osen. Clear your head or something. I'll start all this without you.' He said gesturing to the pile of forms on his desk.

The young man smiled weakly and shook his head.

'I'm sorry Administrator. My mind's been elsewhere.'

Lorlen smirked slightly.

'I can tell. Nothing too serious I hope.' He said as he shuffled the papers.

Only about you having to prove you're not a rapist to the whole of Imardin… Osen mused glumly.

Lorlen started, alarm clearly visible in his eyes.

'What do you mean?' he asked in a cautious voice.

Osen's gaze slid to the floor.

'There's something you need to know.'

FLASHBACK

_A light breeze whistled through the marble cloisters, blowing grass and leaves onto the concrete floor. The Magician's Guild of Kyralia was silent apart that morning apart from the singing of the birds in the surrounding forest. And times like this, it was hard to imagine this as a place home to over 200 people. The lilac sky above was streaked with wispy amber clouds as the sun rose from the east, a faint pleasant smell of grass and flowers in the air. But he didn't notice._

_A small crease formed in between his eyebrows as he once again went over what had just happened._

_A few minutes ago, somewhere in the middle of a particularly strange dream involving the High Lord, a pitchfork and a toothbrush, he had been contacted by a serious sounding Lord Balkan, ordering him to attend a special meeting in the Banquet Room. Balkan had been asked why he chose this time to call such a meeting, but did not answer – saying only that it had to be at a time when everyone else was still asleep._

_The young magician grumbled something in an inaudible voice. _

_This is a Freeday, damn it! _

_He didn't want to think about anything like that at the moment – surely everything could wait until the Meet that evening?_

_Finally arriving at the chosen location, still feeling grumpy, the young magician knocked on the door three times, as he had been instructed._

_'Come in.' a sombre voice replied from the room beyond._

_The door opened inwards and Balkan smiled briefly at the new arrival._

_'Ah, Lord Osen. Thank you for joining us on such short notice.'_

_Osen managed to keep his annoyance under control as he bowed to the Head of Warriors. It was only now that he noticed that nearly all of the Higher Magicians were here. _

_Nearly all of them._

_As Osen sat down in a chair, Balkan lent forward in his chair slightly._

_'Thank you all for coming so quickly – it is much appreciated. I have called you here to discuss a very serious issue.'_

_A few glances and quiet comments were exchanged around the table._

_Osen however stared passively at Balkan, the crease in his eyebrows disappearing. He was pretty sure he knew what this was going to be about._

_Lady Vinara spoke next. _

_Osen forced himself not to roll his eyes. Vinara and Balkan had always been close. But the fact that she of all people would believe something like this was worrying._

_'As some of you may or may not have noticed, Administrator Lorlen and High Lord Akkarin are not with us – and there is a reason for this.'_

_A low noise of agreement echoed around the room._

_'I'm sure you must all understand that the rumours against the Administrator and the High Lord's novice are to be taken very seriously.'_

_'Shouldn't we leave something like this to the High Lord? The two of them have been close friends for over a decade.' The elderly Lord Sarrin said the wrinkles on his face stretching as he frowned._

_Balkan answered._

_'We fear that the High Lord's opinion on this subject may be a little…biased. If we are to come to a sensible conclusion on this issue, we need to be as open-minded as possible.'_

_Hearing that comment gave Osen the courage to speak up. _

_No matter what may or may not have happened, something about this whole story had just seemed…wrong. _

_The person described in the rumour was a cold-hearted, vile sort of man. _

_That wasn't Lorlen._

_'But we don't even have any proof. This could all be just a rumour – and I think we may be in danger of blowing this out of proportion.' Osen declared to them all._

_A murmur of agreement followed._

_Lord Balkan nodded at Lord Osen, acknowledging his point._

_'That may be true. I wish things were this simple, but it is no longer the case._

_Silence._

_'We don't how, but somehow word of this 'rumour' has leaked out of the Guild. Most of the Houses now know, we fear that the King may even have found out.'_

_Eyes around the table widened in alarm._

_'We must act now before the King does find out – he will not be happy if he hears the second most powerful magician in the Allied Lands is suspected of being a rapist. We must do something to resolve the situation before it gets worse.'_

_The murmur of approval was louder. _

_Osen scowled. He caught Lord Sarrin's eye – clearly he wasn't too pleased about this either._

_'The punishment given out by the King will be far higher than that given if we deal with this ourselves. We can at least spare the Administrator the torture of being publicly outcast by the King.' Vinara added._

_Many magicians nodded in approval._

_Osen sighed in exasperation. He could see where they were coming from, but it was all a waste of time as far as he was concerned – because Lorlen was innocent._

_'I say we hold a Hearing after the Meet tomorrow. The sooner we get this over and done with, the better.' Lord Davin added in the background._

_'We should truth read of all those involved.' Lord Peakin said._

_The magicians nodded in approval._

_'Then it is decided. The hearing of Administrator Lorlen shall take place after the Meet tomorrow.' Balkan concluded._

_The younger magician sighed in defeat._

_He had hoped it wouldn't have to come to this._

* * *

The Guild was surprisingly empty as the hurried footsteps crossed the path, the sound smothered by the grass she began to cross. The High Lord's Residence was almost directly behind her and she could still sense it in the back of her mind, the dark soulless windows boring holes into her back. Sonea shuddered that place was evil, she was sure of it.

_Perhaps because of the person that lived in it._

Unasked for images from her dream resurfaced in her mind and Sonea struggled not to gag. It was seemed so real, like it wasn't a dream.

_Some sort of premonition?_

The thought of something like that actually happening made a lump lodge in her throat. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and without realising it, her pace sped up and before long she was sprinting.

Away from the cold building with the cold stone walls and the jeering windows. Away from her guardian – the sadistic psychopath that was tearing her life apart.

Away from her current situation.

Away from her life.

* * *

'Ngh…'

That was all he could manage at that moment. Everything ached – his head throbbed painfully, his eyes sore from the bright sunlight piercing through the gaps in the covers over the window, his heart – though he couldn't remember why at that moment in time and-

Low rumble come from somewhere under the sheets.

His stomach.

Akkarin sighed. It must have been quite late in the day for the sun to be so high, he mused. But he didn't mind – he had nothing especially important to do because today was a Freeday.

That thought made him smile.

His stomach grumbled again, louder this time.

Akkarin couldn't help but chuckle.

Reluctantly, he swung his legs around and headed out the door towards the dining room.

On his way there, he stopped by a certain room. He couldn't quite think why, but that room made him feel weird. Almost…nervous.

_Oh._

It hit him.

_Sonea._

All at once, everything came flooding back. Her being unconscious, the heart to heart with Lorlen, the accusations against the Lorlen, the hurt, the pain, the despair.

Akkarin pulled a face.

Seems he had quite a lot of work to do after all…

_Might as well start with this_, he thought staring at his novice's door.

A small pang of reluctance blossomed in the back of his mind.

On instinct, Akkarin pushed down the door handle in an attempt to get this over and done with before he backed out.

Akkarin did a double take, gazing around the room. He blinked and rubbed his eyes just to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him.

Sonea had completely vanished.

* * *

She burst through the gap in the trees, her own light at the end of the tunnel – only to find that she had in fact arrived at the spring. Sonea sighed.

At least it was away from that place…anything but there.

She stood there drinking in the sight of this little haven, her own heaven on earth, the sound of the stream filling her senses. She sighed.

_Much better._

'Sonea?'

She froze, her gaze sliding to the bank of the stream. Her face heated up with embarrassment.

_Oh God, not now._

She bit lip as her eyes slid shut.

'Hello Dorrien.'

* * *

**A/N: *cough* erm...yeah. Review please...don't eat me! *hides behind shield again and shuffles off***


	20. Karma Police

**A/N: Well, it's official - pigs have flown - that's right people AN UPDATE. Gasp. Sorry, this took so long. Why the hell are so many people still adding this story on story alerts and favourite alerts etc? A few people even added me as one of their favourite authors! I was just staring at my inbox like O_O'. So...um...thanks guys - you obviously see something in this verbal train wreck that I don't. So this chapter and all of the few chapters after this one are dedicated to you guys. And my faithful beta reader who I could not have done this without =) . So yeah! Roughlyishy about 7 chapters left? Somewhere between 5 and 10, anyway. Ooh, btw - have many of you guys have read the magician's apprentice?? And could I get up to 70 reviews please??**

**Anyways, in this chapter: Dorrien gets REJECTED *points at Dorrien at cackles evilly*, Akkarin learns there is such a thing as karma and Sonea...yeah. **

**

* * *

**

19

Sonea watched as Dorrien scrambled to his feet, also slightly embarrassed about the current situation. The two stood for a few moments, an uncomfortable silence reigning supreme. Dorrien's eyebrows knitted together as Sonea continued to face the ground. But then everything from the night before came flooding back.

Sonea. Akkarin. Lorlen.

_Oh._

The twinkle in his eyes spluttered and died, his face suddenly more serious and formal.

'What's wrong, Sonea?'

Sonea heard the question, but it never occurred to her to answer. She had more immediate problems to deal with first. Liking being able to look him in the face without retching.

'Sonea.'

A hint of worry crept into the young man's voice.

Sonea noticed it, the worry and the fear resembling that of his voice in the dream. A vision of his face contorted in agony flashed across her mind. Sonea winced, managing to hold back a whimper.

'Sonea?'

The worry was harder to block out this time. Behind her dark fringe, Sonea's eyes closed as she shuddered slightly. She decided to answer – maybe if she did, he'd be quiet and stop talking. His voice wouldn't stop haunting her.

'I'm fine, Dorrien. Honestly.' She answered bluntly.

Dorrien looked at her sceptically.

He fidgeted nervously. Sonea's head began to throb in the background, the world around her beginning to spin. She didn't want to be around him at the moment. She couldn't handle it.

'Look Sonea-'

He took a step forward, his outstretched hand caressing her cheek.

Sonea visibly flinched, her breath getting caught in her throat. And though she had tried to hide it, they had both seen it.

Dorrien's hand at once froze. Sonea closed her eyes and turned her head away from his hand. For a few moments, there was nothing.

'If that's how you want it…' he mumbled.

Sonea did nothing as the sound of his footsteps grew more and more distant. Once they had completely faded away, she sat down slowly on the moss and put her head in her hands.

_Why can't life be simple for once?_

* * *

The front door of the High Lord's Residence closed quietly, long back robes sweeping the steps as he left the building. Akkarin breathed in deeply, the smell of freshly cut grass filling his nostrils. It was a beautiful morning, the sun up above arching gracefully though the sapphire sky. He couldn't help it – Akkarin was in a good mood.

_Today is going to be a good day_, he mused to himself.

Hearing heavy footsteps approaching him – Akkarin glanced around to see Dorrien leaving the forest, looking very distressed and puzzled.

_Sonea_, Akkarin thought.

Despite the fact Dorrien himself had done nothing to him, Akkarin couldn't help but feel a wave of satisfaction at his misery. A small voice in the Akkarin's head scorned him for thinking such things, but Akkarin ignored it – as far as he concerned, it served Dorrien right.

_He had it coming_, Akkarin thought smugly.

Speaking of Sonea – Akkarin suddenly remembered he needed to talk to her about something.

'Lord Dorrien.' He found himself saying, in a voice he was glad to say hid all his smugness.

The young Healer looked up startled, obviously not paying any attention to what was going on around him.

'High Lord.' Dorrien inclined his head respectfully.

'How are you on this fine day?' Akkarin replied – his mouth working on auto-drive again.

_Damn social pleasantries._

Dorrien's face remained emotionless, though his jaw did twitch subtly.

Akkarin couldn't help but feel slightly pleased with himself.

'Yes – it is a beautiful day. Unfortunately, however I'm not a sunshine person so I believe I shall spend most of today inside.' Dorrien stated in a tone that said that this was the end of the conversation. Akkarin wasn't finished yet though.

'Surprising. You spend most of your time isolated in the country and yet you can't stand sunlight.'

The High Lord smirked.

'What a strange place we live in.'

Dorrien's eye twitched in restrained annoyance. Akkarin's eyes lit up with amusement.

'Yes, I've thought that myself. I really must be going now. Good day High Lord.'

'Good day, Lord Dorrien.'

The younger man had not yet taken 3 steps when Akkarin called him once again.

'You wouldn't happen to have seen my unruly novice on your travels from the forest, have you Lord Dorrien?'

The Healer's limbs locked, eyes blazing with barely controlled anger and despair.

'Yes, I have – she's probably still by the stream. Good day, High Lord.' His voice calm and controlled.

He excused himself without waiting for his superior's reply.

Yes, it was rude. But Dorrien found himself not caring.

Akkarin's expression darkened at the young Healer's back, before sighing to himself at the sheer immaturity of it all. He didn't quite remember when exactly it had started, but he had always disliked Dorrien. It wasn't a hatred, just a general annoyance – and if Dorrien's actions just now were anything to go on – the feeling was mutual. Akkarin found himself frowning. His happy mood had disappeared now.

_High Lord! _

Akkarin started, turning to see Rothen half running, half jogging towards him from the Magician's Quarters.

A strange churning feeling started within him – he had a bad feeling about this.

By now Rothen was right in front of him, panting slightly.

'Have you heard the news?' he started, still a little out of breath.

Akkarin's eyes narrowed suddenly.

_Uh-oh…_

'What news?'

Rothen sighed.

'The Higher Magicians are holding a Hearing for Administrator Lorlen after tomorrow's Meet over the accusations between him and Sonea.'

The black robed magician's eyes flashed dangerously.

They had planned this Meet without him?

Why the hell was I not told about this?

'You realise what this means, High Lord.'

Akkarin's eyes widened in horrified realisation.

_A truth-read._

Someone was going to truth read Lorlen – and he knew about Akkarin's black magic. They'd all be exposed – and everything he had worked for since he had returned would be destroyed.

_Fuck._

'What are they saying the punishment is?' Akkarin inquired trying to keep his voice as level as possible.

Rothen winced slightly and looked at the ground.

'They are saying exile.'

Akkarin's face turned ghostly pale.

_Exile…_

But that meant Lorlen would be sent away to the nearest non Allied Lands, which was…

_Sachaka._

_Oh shit._

* * *

From behind one of the great doors to the University, a figure watched the exchange between the two magicians. They let out a sigh of exasperation – if the High Lord's reaction was anything to go by, he now knew about what was going to happen. She hit her head against the door, sending a small jolt of pain through her head. She winced in pain, but decided not to heal it – she deserved this pain.

_How had this happened?_

She hadn't meant for it to go so wrong so quickly. This was only meant to involve the slum-girl, not the Higher Magicians as well!

And the worst part was that there was now a greater possibility of the Administrator being exiled because of who was accusing him.

_Him._

He had a name but she preferred not to use it now. Or ever again if she could.

She hated him.

Hated him with a passion that she thought would surely consume her.

And in a way, that was the only reason she was helping out the slum-girl – because they both shared a common enemy.

Determination blazed in her eyes.

She knew that she would also be punished for what had happened – but she was now willing to do everything in her power to take him down with her.


	21. Conspirators

**A/N: Well look what the metaphorical cat dragged in! I know, I know - I took my sweet time writing this. There are various excuses I could say - but I'd doubt you want to here them. I've gotten older since I last wrote - I'm 15 now! Yay me. But a HUGE thank you to everyone whos reviewed, or even just added this to a list of theres. And to my wonderful beta reader .L - thank you, I could not have done this without you. I'm up to 70 reviews - yeah! ^________^ Thank you once again - this seriously means a lot. **

**In this chapter Lorlen and Akkarin sit down for a nice little PT, and our mystery guest confronts Regin - who is a slimy little bastard. Ehehehe...R&R chums. On with the story!**

* * *

The room was pleasantly silent that afternoon. But its occupant wasn't paying attention. He wasn't really paying attention to anything.

Lorlen was slightly hunched forward in his chair, his elbows supporting his chin which rested on top of his interlocked fingers. He wasn't really looking at anything in particular either. It wasn't like the Administrator to daydream, in fact, if anyone had asked, he wasn't sure he would classify what he was doing now as daydreaming.

He was just kinda…staring at a random spot on the carpet on the other side of the desk. He didn't give a shit about the carpet – he never had. The room had already come furnished when he first got his job 5 years ago.

_5 years ago…_

That rang a bell somewhere in the back of his mind. But he found himself not caring about that either. Everything had been put on hold for the moment.

It occurred to him that it was perhaps unnatural to be so stoic not long after he had just been told that there was a very real possibility of him being exiled for something he didn't even do.

That was another thing. Had the circumstances been different, Lorlen would have found this all quite amusing. He didn't understand why everyone was being so difficult about this. Surely the simplest thing to do would be to truth-read Regin, discover what had actually happened and to punish him for it instead.

There was a quiet but firm knock on the door. The Administrator sighed wearily.

'Come in.'

The blue-robed magician watched as the handle went down and the door began to open. As his visitor closed the door behind them, Lorlen was left in a state of shock. This day just kept getting weirder.

He smiled ruefully.

'Since when do you knock?'

The newcomer smirked.

'Would you rather I didn't?' he retorted.

Lorlen snorted softly.

_Since when did my opinion count to you, _was the automatic question that sprung to mind, but Lorlen held his tongue.

He registered by the sound of the carpet that his visitor was moving towards him.

_So, who do I have the pleasure of speaking to today,_ he sneered – still slightly bitter from yesterday's argument.

The man in question moved towards the chair in front of his desk.

_The High Lord or Akkarin?_

He flopped into the large chair with a great sigh, letting his head fall to the side. His head sunk into the corner headrest as wisps of his long black hair concealed part of his face.

For a few seconds there was complete silence.

'How are you today, Lorlen?'

Said magician did not reply instantly.

On the random occasions when 'the High Lord' would somehow appear in his room for a 'chat', i.e: to make sure Lorlen was behaving himself, that question (it was nearly always the same question) would never fail to send cold little shivers down his spine.

The very way in which it was delivered, that eerie little half-smile, the cold penetrating look – the face he wore in general whenever he came to visit – it was horrible. It was like a mask. Everything about it was false.

No, not false. Dead.

Yes, that was it exactly.

'The High Lord' was no more than an empty shell, a mask – cold, hard and plastic. Very little emotions, no matter he may deny it. His eyes were the worst thing though. There was something dark, hostile even lurking in his gaze whenever they talked. It was always there, quite well hidden but still there.

Sometimes, it felt as if his superior would like nothing more than to slit his throat open with that disturbingly sharp sword he kept with him sometimes. It was unnerving. He was unnerving.

The Administrator was deathly afraid of 'The High Lord'.

And Lorlen _hated_ it. He hated _him._

And then there had been Akkarin – his one true friend, his best friend, the one person in the world he would have trust with anything. He would have died for Akkarin. Because he hadn't just been a friend, he had meant more to him than most of his family did (admittedly he never kept in much contact with his family, but that was besides the point).

Akkarin had been funny, slightly eccentric and not too mention incredibly competitive.

He had possessed a natural charm and grace that just drew people to him like a magnet. Everyone loved Akkarin.

Lorlen had loved Akkarin.

And perhaps that was why it was just so hard to accept that he was gone. Because he didn't want to.

Lorlen regarded the man before him.

Perhaps the only reason, he allowed this man anywhere near him was because a part of him hoped real Akkarin would come back.

But no, he was not coming back – and that was a fact Lorlen had accepted the day his 'friend' had interrogated him in the High Lord's Residence that day over three months ago.

There were sometimes little glimpses of how it was before, like now for example, he sprawled across the chair in a very un-High-Lord like way with his hair in his face – looking pretty relaxed.

But it was never the same, Akkarin had never the same.

He looked relaxed, but he wasn't.

Lorlen knew he wasn't.

Akkarin knew Lorlen knew he wasn't.

But no-one said anything about it.

So it was that Lorlen concluded, that the fact that this man had come here today and had actually tried to make things seem how they were before – proved to Lorlen that this was Akkarin and not the 'High Lord'.

Or as close to Akkarin as was possible now after…whatever it was that happened 5 years ago.

It seemed that Akkarin truly did want things to go back to the way they were before_…_

Unexpectedly, that thought warmed the Administrator's heart to the core.

He smiled softly.

_You came…_

The taller man started, the surprise poorly hidden in his eyes. But then, a genuine smile appeared on his lips, his dark eyes twinkled slightly with subtle understanding.

He knew exactly what Lorlen had meant by that statement.

* * *

As the following hours past, the sun began its wary descent across the sky, staining it with blazing trails on orange, yellow and pink. The atmosphere was somewhat more relaxed and light-hearted as the heat began to melt away, the mild breeze signalling the approach of the nightfall.

Through a group of windows slotted together on the first floor, two magicians could be seen sitting in a grand looking office, the walls almost completely lined with bookshelves.

A near empty bottle of red wine stood proudly in the centre of the desk surrounded by papers that seemed to have been pushed to one side.

An empty bottle protruded out of a bin hidden in the desk's shadow.

The owner of said office himself was currently slouching slightly in his seat behind a sturdy wooden desk.

His features were hidden in darkness because the chair was facing away from the window, but it was obvious from the tell-tale bruises beginning to form under his dulled blue eyes, that this man was not in great shape. This was especially obvious to his black-robed companion sat in the chair opposite.

It was only in rare moments like this when Akkarin got the chance to actually look at his close friend openly without fear of it being interpreted as a hostile action or something like that.

It was obvious by the way Lorlen was acting and what he had said to him, not the night before but in the years gone past – that Lorlen had thought Akkarin changed beyond all recognition.

But Akkarin himself was increasingly under the opinion that perhaps that theory worked both ways.

Lorlen had changed of course, that was only to be expected – people changed all the time. But this was different. His friend had gotten a lot more…cynical.

He had much less patience for people than he once did.

He worried more and seemed to prefer to keep everyone, including himself and probably Osen, and arm's distance. Akkarin knew full well that he was at least part of the reason – he had betrayed Lorlen's trust that day 3 months ago and his friend had never fully recovered.

The familiar ache of knowing he was causing Lorlen's anguish clawed at Akkarin's heart; his dark eyebrows knitted together in frustration.

He had had this conversation with himself so many times. It was wrong for him to physically force information out of Lorlen against his will, they both knew that beyond any doubt – but there was no other way.

Akkarin had to know.

If he had let Lorlen, Rothen and Sonea carry on with life knowing about his dark little secret – chances are he'd have been executed by now.

And Akkarin couldn't die.

He had to stay alive no matter what.

If he was executed, the Ichani would invade. Everyone would die. Kyralia and the Allied Lands would fall and everything and everyone he had sacrificed in those crucial 5 years in Sachaka would count for nothing.

And that was out of the question. He owed far too many people too much to chicken out because he didn't want a couple of people to be mad at him.

_It's just…_

Akkarin refocused on Lorlen, who was currently frowning softly down at his desk as if thinking something over, as he took another sip of wine.

_…I wish he could understand I was doing this to help. I just want to protect everyone. But he doesn't understand. _Why_ doesn't he understand?!_

Akkarin took a deep breath, smothering the sudden cry of desperation.

_Because you never told him_, a quiet voice murmured in his head.

A frown graced his face as he considered.

Could it be…that if he told Lorlen everything, he would understand? Could he accept the reasons why he did what he did? More importantly, could Lorlen actually in believe in him and support his cause?

Surely that was far too much to hope for…

'Would you believe me, if I said I didn't do it?'

Lorlen's quiet, sombre tone bought Akkarin back to the present.

Confusion briefly flickered across his eyes before he remembered. The reason he was here. The Hearing.

Oh.

There was a long pause while black-clad magician considered. Did he still think it was him?

_Well, Lorlen was with Sonea that night and they had gone into his office. _This_ office…_

Akkarin fought back a shudder.

_…and Sonea's buckle was found outside his door. He hasn't denied it, she hasn't denied it…neither of them have said anything…_

But yet…now Akkarin thought about – some things really didn't add up.

Like, the fact Sonea was already upset by the time she found Lorlen.

The fact that Lorlen seemed to know as little as he did about what had happened to her when they had talked through the blood ring.

The fact that Lorlen had seemed genuinely offended and hurt when Akkarin had hinted he didn't believe him last night…

Something was definitely not right. But was that enough to clear his friend of all suspicion? Could he take the risk and disregard the somewhat flimsy evidence and stand beside Lorlen as his friend once more?

The High Lord probably wouldn't have risked it.

The old Akkarin would have stood by Lorlen no matter what.

What about this Akkarin – one who had seen the world in all its horrifying coldness, darkness and cruelty? Was there still room left in his heart for trust?

Could things really go back to the way they were before?

Akkarin met Lorlen's somewhat hesitant gaze easily.

'…yes.'

* * *

A lone figure wandered silently through the cloisters, a late evening breeze filtering through her hair. Her pale face was serious, auburn eyebrows knitted together, her head filled by an overall emptiness. One think did stand out in her mind though.

She knew she had to do this.

Again, on instinct it seemed, she was hit by the same question everytime she told what she was about to do.

Why?

That one word summed up everything that had happened in the last two or so days.

That night, everything had been turned upside down.

All because of him.

And her.

She wasn't quite sure who she hated most at the moment – the slumgirl or…

A joyous sound erupted not far ahead of her. She looked up and scowled at the sight she saw.

…_him_.

Regin was, just as she thought, sat on top of the fountain in the middle of the Gardens – his groupies scattered around him laughing along with him.

_The way these people cling to this guy_, she seethed.

_It's actually pathetic._

She felt a pang of some distant emotion – she couldn't really talk, after all, she'd been head-groupie until a couple of days ago. Though…seeing it all from the outside…

She snarled and looked away.

It made her feel even more pathetic.

One girl, what was her name, Brianna? - she laughed louder than the others and not-so-subtly moved closer to Regin, despite the fact she was practically sitting on his lap as it was.

Regin made no sign of discomfort nor made any attempt to push her away. If anything, he pulled her closer. She giggled, a horrible high pitched noise that made her shudder. She began to trace little patterns slowly on his thigh, grinning up at him. He smiled back and ran his fingers along her jawline making her openly swoon in front of everyone.

Honestly, had this girl no self-respect whatsoever?

Quickly becoming very pissed off, she hid behind the cloister nearest to the fountain and closed her eyes.

Why was this all suddenly affecting her so much?

Things had always been this way, hadn't they?

Only…

Regin's band of merry men began to chant as the two of them looked into eachother's eyes, their faces very close and getting closer.

Their lips finally met, the crowd cheered and wolf-whistled.

…that had been her a couple of days ago.

Her face didn't change, but something sharp and painful flickered in his eyes as she watched.

Even she was vaguely surprised to find that it only him 2 days to conveniently forget he had a girlfriend and find someone else.

_Little fucking bastard._

She waited for some part of her to dispute the fact that that statement was true.

Nothing happened. She sighed.

_Then why the hell I am doing this?_

She peered around the side of the cloister, her hair shining bright orange in the fading sunlight.

_Because…_

Regin looked up from his conversation, his gaze snapping straight to hers.

_…you love him._

As a look of recognition flittered across his gaze, he excused himself from the crowd, leaving Brianna staring longingly at his back, a sad little pout on her face.

_And you know you'd never forgive yourself if you let this carry on without telling him._

Regin calmly sauntered over, a soft little smile melting onto his face as he approached her. Her resolve faltered ever so slightly, her legs finding it harder to stay upright.

That smile, it was a smile he saved especially for her, or so she thought at least.

It would be so easy, dangerously easy to just slip back into the routine. Pretend nothing had ever happened…

'Hey…' he said softly as he stood in front of her.

She looked up, then looked away quickly, determined not to be mesmerized by the little twinkle in his eyes.

Regin smiled his heart-breaking smile again.

'I missed you.' He whispered, gently brushing her cheek with the back of his hand.

Her eyes flickered shut, her heart-rate sped up.

_NO._

They snapped back open, cold blue eyes glaring icily at Regin. She slapped his hand away.

'You have to end this.' She said firmly.

Regin tilted his head to one side in confusion, she used to think he looked so cute when he did that…

'End what?' His voice remained quiet.

'You know what, Regin.' She huffed and turned away from him.

He sighed.

'Issle…'

'Do you have any idea what you've done?' she seethed, determination fuelling her anger.

'The Administrator has been threatened with exile because of your little stunt. They're going to hold a Hearing tomorrow – you have to save yourself while you still can!'

A brief flicker concern ghosted across his face, but yet the smile still remained.

'You do still care after all…'

Issle scowled angrily.

'I'm not joking! You're underestimating them. All they have to do is truth-read you, _her_ or the Administrator and it's all over.'

Regin smiled again, but it was a different smile this time.

It was darker, malicious even and devious.

Issle felt herself shiver and turned away from his gaze.

'You're underestimating me, my dear. I don't think this Hearing is going to go as smoothly as they had hoped.'

* * *

**A/N: Ooh, the plot thickens! Stay with me here, people, the end is in sight! *bows gracefully and walks off into the night* ^___^**


	22. Fear Factor

**A/N: Um...hi *hurriedly grabs Lorlen, using him as a human shield* Bet you never thought you'd hear from me again, huh. I've had the world's FATTEST writers block - and I'm not even sure now how and why it's gone, but yeah! **

**A little something you may/ may not like to know - since the last chapter, this story has exceeded the 10,000 + hits barrier. 10,000 HITS PEOPLE - thats just INSANE!! Insane good btw. I wish there was a way I could somehow express my eternal gratitude for all your support, but nothig I can think of really does it justice. So I suppose this next chapter will have to do for now...**

**Ironically, I had actually started writing the next chapter shortly after postin the last one - and then realised I'd gone and skipped over one of the most important bits in the whole story, hence the extra delay.**

**But anyways, I'm gonna shut up now and let you read this. Not much happens unfortunately, but I do know what's gonna happen in the next chapter. So enjoy!**

**-M.M-**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything. Damn shame that...**

* * *

'Lorlen.'

Blue eyes flickered over to his brown eyed companion. Blue eyes narrowed at said companion's suddenly hesitant look.

'Yes?'

'…I need to know…what really happened that night.'

Silence.

The Administrator swallowed, making him ever more aware of the sudden lump lodged in his throat. He had been dreading this moment almost from the very beginning, even more so now. Lorlen had made a promise to Sonea not to tell anyone, especially Akkarin, of what had happened that night – and here he was, about to betray her trust.

But yet…

This had to be done. If the truth was not exposed, Regin would walk free, Sonea's life would only get worse and he…he would be at the very least be stripped of his rank and title and eventually incarcerated. Maybe even exiled.

He was dooming Sonea to save his own skin.

Could he really be that selfish?

He glanced at his superior once more and sighed.

Not that Akkarin would give him much choice, he thought spitefully. Knowing the High Lord, he'd probably paralyse him again and forcefully shove his way through his thoughts like he did last time.

That's what he seemed to be doing recently to those who refused to co-operated with him.

_But…Akkarin just said he trusted me._

_And you _believe_ him?_

Both men tensed subtly, both unaware the other was eagerly anticipating the answer to that question.

…_I… _want_ to believe him._

Akkarin exhaled quietly.

_More fool you then_, a voice grumbled in defeat at the back of Lorlen's head before falling silent.

_Well, that settles it._

The Administrator took another deep breath, blue eyes staring defiantly into expectant brown.

This was it. After all this time…he was _surrendering_.

Akkarin had won _again_.

Akkarin _always_ won.

"Do what you have to do."

More silence.

There was a soft scrape as a chair was pushed back, its black robed occupant stood up and slowly making his way around the desk to his friend.

Lorlen flinched slightly, hating the instant jolt of fear that sliced through him.

_This was your choice…_, a small voice chimed in.

Akkarin came to a standstill in front of the Administrator's chair. Lorlen knew the other was looking at him but chose not to meet his gaze.

There was a pause before Akkarin knelt down in front of him, gazing up at him with an emotion Lorlen couldn't quite put a name to.

…_do you regret it?_

"I won't force to show me anything you don't want to, but I do have to know what happened – you know that as well as I do."

Lorlen still didn't meet his gaze, not trusting himself to keep quiet. The number and intensity of the emotions running through his head at the moment was mind-blowing. His brain yelling various instructions at him, most of them contradicting eachother. But one command finally won through.

'Just do it.' He whispered, eyes sliding shut.

There was another brief pause, then he heard the sound of robes shuffling and Lorlen braced himself for the impact.

Cool fingertips brushed his temples, making him shudder slightly, bright blue eyes snapping open on instinct.

Lorlen was taken aback by the unexpected warmness in his friend's eyes.

**Please, try to relax Lorlen.**

A reassuring little smile morphed onto the High Lord's face and Lorlen felt the tension slowly ebb away – though perhaps that had been the point.

Blue eyes slid shut once again.

Akkarin took a breath in, the smile melting away as he focused, pressing down slightly on the Administrator's temples and felt himself slip into the darkness.

* * *

Outside, a muted indigo sky signalled the arrival of twilight.

Rothen chose not to turn the lights on, too engrossed in the book he was reading, a fascinating poem about a sailor on a quest to find the end of the world. Also, he was sure his son welcomed the darkness.

The alchemist peered over the top of the book at the young man stood by the open window. His son hadn't said anything since he got back from his walk this morning. At least he'd calmed down now – Dorrien had looked _seriously_ miffed when he came back in, mumbling something under his breath about the High Lord.

Rothen knew the best thing to do was leave it - if Dorrien wanted to talk him, he'd do it of his own accord. But it had never happened.

The anger mellowed into an empty kind of blankness that, frankly scared him – and Rothen had a bad feeling he knew _exactly_ what it was about.

What it was _always_ about.

The alchemist sighed quietly to himself.

This was not a problem he could help Dorrien with. This was exclusively between his son and his ex-novice.

They needed to sort this out on their own.

_Hopefully sooner rather than later_, he mused gazing at the apathetic look on the younger man's face.

* * *

Akkarin felt himself smile at the familiarity of his surroundings. Though there was nothing but darkness, it was undeniably Lorlen.

The calm but stern undercurrent was still present beneath the fresh layers of anxiety and fear. Truth be told, Akkarin preferred Lorlen's mind to his – simply because of the fact he understood it better than he did his own. Much less confusing.

_**Something amusing? **_

The black robed figure turned to face the speaker, who was currently standing a little ways behind him.

Lorlen was regarding him with a cautious expression, mouth set in a thin, hard line with his arms folded over his chest.

Akkarin felt his smile grow bigger, though he wasn't entirely sure why. It seemed Lorlen wasn't sure either, the new confusion and extra caution filtering into the space around them.

**You don't truly know someone until you've seen into their mind.**

Which was true, Akkarin realised once he thought it over.

Of course he knew Lorlen, they had been friends for nearly 20 years, but this - being in Lorlen's head, being able to hear his every thought and see things from his point of view…

Lorlen scoffed.

_**Well, that's the whole point. You can't hide **__anything__** here without the other person knowing.**_

It made him realise just how little he truly knew his friend, a thought that saddened him somewhat.

The bitter tone of that comment stung, Akkarin's eyes tightening a little.

It was times like this Akkarin was made aware of the ever widening chasm opening up between the two of them…

He turned back to Lorlen, to find a strange, thoughtful look on his face – muffled, muted questions wafting unheard in the space.

If Akkarin really wanted to, he could find out what questions those were – but he decided against it. He needed Lorlen's trust; and examining every little thing that went through his head would get him nowhere fast.

**Lorlen?**

The blue robed magician blinked, the questions pushed aside. A strained little smile formed on his face.

_**So what exactly did you want to know?**_

Something, an image, flashed across Lorlen's mind, disappearing as quickly as it arrived.

Frowning, Akkarin pulled it back – would this image have something to do with the ongoing investigation. He met a faint resistance, but it slackened reluctantly.

_**That's nothing important, just....**_

Akkarin felt the slight embarrassment and considered the scene in front of him.

In front of them was a little stream, just like the one the two of them had visited many times as novices in the Guild forest.

The water was clear and calm, Akkarin could make out pebbles and other small rocks at the bottom.

On the other side of the stream was a little grassy bank, a couple of wooden deckchairs perched at the top. A small wooden table sat beside one chair, an open resting on its top.

Behind the chairs stood a single building, not too small but not too big either and made of big stone slabs with a black slate roof. A little wooden staircase lead to a front door left slightly ajar.

It was…really quite pleasant, Akkarin reflected.

_**Do you remember back when we were first taught Control as novices? We were asked to imagine a room where our power was contained…**_

…So this was Lorlen's building, seen from the outside.

Obviously over time, the image had been pushed aside, deemed too time consuming.

Akkarin glanced over at Lorlen.

**Could I…?**

Lorlen looked surprised but agreed somewhat wearily.

Akkarin moved over to the stream and stepped over it, making his way up the bank. Briefly he stopped by the table, attention caught on the book resting there.

Something flickered across Lorlen's mind and Akkarin turned to see a quiet resentment reflected in the other's eyes.

_**Must you inspect **_**everything**_** you see here?**_

The High Lord's outstretched hand hovered over the book, before pulling back with a frown on his face.

Of course – this was Lorlen's head after all. He had no right to be snooping around, as everything here was private.

He felt Lorlen sigh.

_**It's OK, I'm just not used to being interrogated in my own sanctuary.**_

Lorlen crossed over the river himself, his face sombre, blue eyes twinkling with an emotion the other could not make out.

Akkarin was about to reply when the Administrator cut him off.

_Don't__** apologise. We both know why you're here – so let's just get it over with.**_

The blue robed projection walked straight past Akkarin, as if pretending the other was not there after all. The black-robed man watched in silence as Lorlen proceeded up the staircase silently, pushing the door open with a soft, near inaudible creak.

Akkarin waited at the bottom of the stairs, expecting his friend to invite him in – so he was surprised when he suddenly found himself standing in the centre of the room. Lorlen had deliberately moved the building to mould around him.

The room's decor was much plainer than even Akkarin had imagined it would be - perhaps this blankness was somehow a reflection of his friend's recent mood, a quiet voice in the back of his head helpfully chimed in.

Akkarin tried to smother these thoughts as much as possible, fully aware that it was not right for him to be thinking about Lorlen whilst inside his friend's head.

Though, if the Administrator had heard these thoughts, he didn't comment.

Akkarin felt a little guilty at the wave of relief that passed over him.

The walls were a calm beige creamy colour, the floor made of dark wooden floorboards polished to a bright shine.

It reflected the soft muted lighting from the wall lamps dotted around the room; each lamp squashed in between the numerous bookshelves that lined all four walls.

At this, the High Lord couldn't help but chuckle.

Lorlen had always been a scholar at heart – no matter how he tried to deny it.

Shortly after the two had graduated, Akkarin remembered suggesting to Lorlen that he should become a scholar instead of a Healer, but his friend had refused, saying he refused to become one of those fat, balding men, who spent their free time sitting in the back of the Great Library in Elyne, up to their eyeballs in texts and scriptures describing in unnecessary detail how Lord Coren went about building the Magician's Guild.

Akkarin was sure he'd never laughed so much in his life.

A growing tension now hung stagnant in the air like a thick fog and Akkarin suddenly found himself feeling rather apprehensive, all trace of humour disappearing.

Administrator Lorlen was standing in front of an intricately framed mirror, facing away from Akkarin.

_**Let's not drag this out any longer than necessary, shall we?**_

And with that, the mirror began to darken. The High Lord took one last opportunity to glance over at Lorlen's reflection and felt himself grow cold at the raw fear and anxiety displayed on the others face.


	23. Please read

**A/N: Hi, it's me. Don't get too excited, because I'm pretty sure you're NOT gonna like what I have to say. **

**Basically, as you know - I haven't updated for quite a while. I had actually at one point gotten the entire of the next chapter written out and was quite pleased with it. Until my computer crashed. And it got deleted. And I cannot summon the willpower to try again, with this chapter and with trying to motivate myself to write this story.**

**I started writing this when I was 14 and I am now 16 and my views, preferences and fanfic styles have changed DRASTICALLY (I'd also like to think my writing's improved) - and this story idea just doesn't appeal to me anymore. It did before, but it's just gone - the plotline just seems stupid and unrealistic and I've managed to write myself into a corner with this thing. So, I wish I didn't have to do this, but until further notice - this fic is going on hiatus. Perhaps I will eventually post the next chapter - but I wouldn't hold your breath. I haven't read this series in ages and my love for this fandom in general is dying.**

**Having said that - there is one idea I am in the process of writing for this fandom (due to one particularly ferocious meat-eating plot bunny), my last attempt at BMT fanfiction - that is currently in progress. I imagine it won't be posted until the summer holidays, but it's VERY different from this fic. I haven't got the entire plotline sorted out yet though, so I guess it all depends on whether I can be bothered when I FINALLY get enough free time to go back to writing...**

**I'd like to take this opportunity to VEHEMENTLY thank everyone who's reviewed, alerted or even just read this story. Off the top of my head, this fic has 83 reviews, 71 alerts and just shy of _14,000 hits_ (I won't even ask.). Seriously, were it not for you guys - I'd have given up on this about seven chapters ago. No joke.**

**Once again, I'm really sorry - I hate leaving things unfinished, but it's ridiculously difficult trying to write this anymore.**

**For anyone that's thinking about it, flaming me for this will get you absolutely nowhere. It'll probably make me even less likely to post something for this in future - and I have a reputation among those who know me for not taking insults very well - you have been warned in advance.**

**I hope I shall write something for you guys again soon, you have been so amazingly generous in your support - but I guess only time will tell.**

**Until then,**

**-M.M-**

**P.S: For those who are interested, the fate of my horror fic 'Papercut' remains undecided.**


	24. Uhoh another AN

**A/N: Hey everyone! End of the summer holidays - hope everyone enjoyed it while it lasted, went by too bloody quickly imo...**

**Anyway, have come to a decision about this fic's future - and it's not good news I'm afraid. I'm officially declaring this fanfic dead and taking it off life support. I am so sorry it came to this and I apologise to everyone who wanted an update, but it's just not going to happen now, and I don't think any amount of time passing is going to make me want to continue this fic in the future.**

**Having said that, if someone has taken a liking to this story and wishes to continue it in their own way - please, feel free to contact me, adopt my plot bunny and carry it on as you see fit...**

**HOWEVER, as suggested by one reviewer ^^, if anyone wishes to know how I was planning to end this story, please PM me or review and I shall tell you - I feel I owe you guys that much at least.**

**Much apologies once again,**

**Kipling.**


End file.
